of stinko & soccer

of stinko & soccer

Yesterday, my collegue, Sri & I must have gotten onto one of the stinkiest bus ever. Seriously. I compared the smell to that of 10 unbathed, sweaty men. Sri easily compared it to shit faeces. Yes, it's THAT bad.

I sprayed some perfume into my bag and flapped it; a pathetic attempt at being discreet, to getting a much better scent wafting about. But it got so unbearable that I took a tissue which had some perfume srayed on it and DIRECTLY put it to my nose. Thankfully, my usually sensitive nose did not react adversely to the strong scent of perfume (maybe that perfume scent was already balanced/neutralised with that stink).

A woman board the bus at the stop after us and sat beside Sri. However at the next stop, she hurriedly shifted to the seat opposite us. Fishy.... I looked at the man beside her. I looked at his sneakers and nudged at Sri. "I think it's that man. The shoes..." But I dare not accuse him.

To add to this mess, there was a slight jam. Oh-My-Goodness! I looked around and I wondered if it's my distorted vision or that everyone was also sporting a discomforting look? Cramped faces with scrunched-up noses.

2 stops down the road another woman sat at the seat beside Sri. Lucky Sri alighted at the next stop while I had to bear with this stench for another 2 stops. Oh, the woman beside Sri ALSO shifted her seating location. So was this just a mere coincidence??

The next stop, THAT man alighted and guess what?!
The stink/stench/odour almost immediately DISAPPEARED! With that man, definitely.

Dude, you gotta dump those sneakers, man! That smell was sooo bad, it's TOXIC! Uugh!

*******
I dunno why I can't seem to get up for sahour just now. My dad was already yelling at me but pressed the pillows to my ears. Heh.

Then you know what he did?

He turned on the TV, tuned it to the sports channel and blast the volume. He then gave a LIVE COMMENTARY on what is going on in that soccer match he's watching. He exeggerated every expression whenever there's a failed attempt at a goal, a foul and don't even mention it when there's indeed a goal. It sounded like I was in some packed pub on a Saturday nite. The noise!

It got to a point where I got so curious bout' whatever match he's watching that I jumped out of bed and staggered to the screen..... Guess what?!

All the matches ended already, lah. He was just commenting on the various matches based on the highlights! He knew that every time there are live soccer matches playing on tv, I'll be the first one awake. Last week was the World Cup Qualifiers. This week is the Champions League. This is a tried-and-tested method and it DEFINITELY work. Sheesh!

When he saw me in the kitchen (finally!), he said, "So can we start to sahour now?"
I just squint my eyes. Seriously, if that's not my DAD standing there, I would have replied, "Darn you!!"

Ok here goes...

breaking fast

Geez, I'm seeing a pattern here. I shall update all at one shot...(as I've always done..)

Buka No. 1
Wed-12102005

Planned with Deanna & Tini for some girls nite out at Geylang bazaar and maybe look around for stuff and definitely.... food. Heh! There's the yearning for otah lah, burger Ramly lah, keropok lekor lah, Okonomiyaki lah......

The time finally arrived yet Deanna hurriedly SMS to say she's gonna be late because of some screw-up @ work. So I met Tini at Post Centre and we sat at MacD first. And she gave me THIS>>>

Yes, a VERYYYY belated birthday present. Wait... presentssssss. That's how many trinkets she put in that box. Bit and pieces of stuff that means a lot. Reading that little letter she wrote, albeit it not being some fancy-schmancy card, almost put me to tears, lah.

And you see that 3 fair-looking boxes, there? Heh.. One of my fav. brand of chocs.
Awesome stuff! *Thanks again, Tini...!*

Then we bought the food at Geylang and figured out somewhere pretty 'discreet' to consume them.... ON the overhead bridge. Heh... Aside from some avid/amateur photographers clicking on the fancy lighting and some passers-by, it's just us.

Deanna eventually arrived with Azari, her beau and a couple of her frens who scooted off on their own after that. Followed by some pretty looong wait for Tini's fiance and figuring out our next plan. He eventually arrived but had to accompany and transport his mum and sis first, so Tini & I took a cab down to Pahang Str. Deanna and Azari (D & A) will ride off on their own and meet us there.

Of course Tini and I reached 1st. We soon got worried and wondered if D & A got lost somewhere in this maze of one-way lanes and funny street names. We then decided to get some seats first. They finally arrived, only to tell us the reason why they took so long is cos' they first wanna eat the dengdeng that they had bought, before it gets cold. Aiyoh..!

We eventually shifted from the dining (chairs and tables) area to the lounge (carpets, rugs and throw cushions) zone, where we practically lazed around (read: lie around/slouch on the cushions)... Got another sheesha and more drinks as Ody arrived with Maman.
Time sure passed quickly when you're having fun. It wasn't long before the clock strike one. YES, ONE am on a WEDNESDAY. And we decided to go our separate ways. D & A going JB, I think. Ody, Maman, Tini & myself are far from going home. We're going shopping at Mustafa! Ha!

We ventured onto all the levels of that 24-hr shopping centre. Time out of the bldg? 3++am. We got lost in the maze of clothes and toys. YES, toys... Quite a fun section to be in, I admit. When the store is almost empty in that ungodly hour, no one gives a damn what you do as you prodded, squeezed and goofed around with them toys.

Looking at the time, I realised that we're better off consuming our sahour before going home where we can straight-away bunk into bed (esp. me who have to wake up some 3 hours later for WORK)
Time check: 4.40am. Dad and Bro were almost done with their sahour when I reached home.

Buka No.2
Thu-13102005

Met Bas at Bugis. He claimed to have seen Willy, an ol' pal of ours who practically dissipated from our social life for some unknown *cough*conflict*cough* reason.
Why wasn't I surprised when Bas said that Willy ignored him? Hmm.. But I sure hope that ignorance is due to his inability to recognise this fella who has decided to sprout some cute curls on his head.
A major feat since those close-cropped hair days back in Poly. Come to think of it, he DID attempt to grow those curls during a certain semestral break. It was unfortunate that Lord of the Rings was really hot back then and we got around to calling him, "FRODO." He came back with a haircut the day after.. Heh.

ANYWAY...

Bas and I made our way to Ambrosia Cafe at Baghdad Street. I was worried that the place will be packed, esp. the 2nd level. Turns out the atmosphere seemed pretty relaxed. The place was quite a contrast to the one I've been to the day before. I'm obviously much impressed with that cafe down at Pahang Street.

Kai saw us along the way but had to go pretty far to find a parking lot (yesh, he drove). Meng eventually came after seven and all the crap started soon after. With the arrival of Khama, chaos soon dominate what with our careless banter and laughter. Soon it was left with just us and this couple of ladies in the corner. With such a chilled-out setting, one just cant help feeling like they're at home. Heh..

All's well untill it was time to pay the bill. Erm.... Maybe I shouldn't get there. I can feel my (fragile) heart cracking.... *hint * hint*

Finally met Kai's 'baby'. Actually it's his (new) car, aptly named 'Snow White'. Cute & reliable. Bas & Meng (from the West-side) hopped into a cab back home. Meanwhile, Kai, Khama & I (from the East-side) didn't feel like going home yet. We decided on somewhere that is low-cost (yas, that bill REALLY affected us) so we settled for some beach somewhere. I got into the topic of ice-creams and all of us started lusting after a tub of Ben & Jerry's. Haha!

The plan was to purchase the B & J @ a petrol station somewhere and hit Changi Beach. Then it started to drizzle. Kai drove on to Changi but the airport, lah. We crossed our fingers that Swensen's still open at 11pm. It still is. Yipee! Got for ourselves a tub of 'Chewy Choc Fudge'. As u know, the great ppl of Swensens will pack the ice-cream with dry ice, rite?

And then there's this 'himbo' (the male version of a 'bimbo') among us (definitely NOT me), who let the tub of ice-cream (i/c) rest on the dry ice when all the while, we were struggling with the super-hard i/c and using extra strength just to get much bigger chunks than simply the morsels that we're digging out. And it's not even chewy!

....Or so we thought....

When there's less than AN INCH of choc fudge i/c left, Khama finally discovered what was wrong. He dumped the dry ice. Less that a minute later, we were SCOOPING (note: no more digging) out big-big CHUNKS (note: not morsels) of really CHEWY choc. fudge ice-cream.... Well just TOO BAD there's only a teeny-weeny bit left..... Hmmph!

Finally went home. Oh, while at the airport, received a call from my cousins saying that one of my other cousin had got into a motorbike accident (he's the pillion). My bro followed-up with a call soon after. He's going to NUH to see how that fella's doing. I was about to get worried until these 2 fellas ask me,
"So how's he doing at the A&E?"
"Erm... in a wheelchair waiting for his turn..?"
"And he called you guys?"
"Erm.... Yeap."
Then he should be fine. Unless you tell us he's on a stretcher, I believe he should be fine.. Maybe he's just in shock"
...Oh, I almost forgot I had a TP beside me... Heh.

Reached home. Time check: 1.45am. Thanks for the ride, Kai! That's a pretty little 'Snow White' u have. Hee.

of jb, geylang & jb

of j.b, geylang & j.b (again)

08102005*0000-0435*Sat morning
We had this planned since the week before but the day that was agreed on was a pathetic Wed. Not suprisingly that idea was dropped and the event was pushed to Fri/Sat.

We had wanted to chill at Singgah Selalu, j.b in the wee hours of morning and have our sahour there as well. It was pretty ambitious. We're supposedly going in 2 cars, one coming from the East before joining the other in the West. The amount of ppl was 5 from the East and another 3 or 4 from the west, totalling the no. of ppl coming to be around 8 or 9. Pretty grand, huh?

Then one has a seminar the morning after. 1 down. Another had to OT and work early next morning. 2 down. And the other 2, just decided not to come. That's 4 down. So the ones left are these 2 teams of brother-sister made up of Yan & Natra + my bro & myself. Greeeaat. Then there's the cars. Both our teams wanna top-up the petrol in j.b so one will be following the other. In the last minute, Yan's mum (my aunt) wanna go to Sheng Siong so all of us were bundled into my car.

Haha. From 8 pax to 4. From 2 cars to 1. And I thought that everything is going downhill from there. We almost went in w/o a single M'sian currency. Thankfully, Yan found RM10 hidden deep in the recess of his wallet. Enough for the tolls. After that, it's time to blast the engine power down the long, long stretch of road. Just one of the reasons why I love going thru' the 2nd link. Very liberating, ain't it?

All went well. The food was great, the place was great. The atmosphere was superb (except for the Hindi songs playing in the background). And we did enjoy ourselves. The amount of food we ordered seemed able to feed the 8 ppl that was supposed to be here. We finished them nonetheless.
Then Yan insisted that we fill the petrol till' his targeted amount and boy, how he shook that car! The pump was beeping and beeping and he still tried to fill till the max . I dunno whether to pity the car or the pump. Should see the look on the guy's face at the cashier....

Time check:0435hrs. Yan and Natra rushed home to give their parents the food that they had ordered for their sahour. We I reached my carpark, I saw the several Muslim flats all lit up. At home, my dad himself had just finished his meal. Ahhh... what bliss.

PS: Yan & natra left their passports behind in my car.....

**********
08 & 09102005*2100-0030*Sat-Sun
3 families had agreed to meet at Geylang that night. I gawked apon knowing that they had chosen a Saturday (of all days) to hit the bazaar of Geylang and wade thru' the throng of ppl. Geez!

Yan and my bro wisely backed out so I had the 'honour' of driving my parents there. I already pleaded with them to take the bus there instead. Driving is the luxury granted to those who live far, far away in the West. We live a mere 20mins away by (feeder) bus so why do need to make an unecessary drive there?

Needless to say, I had hot air steaming out of my ears as I made a grave mistake of turning into the carpark at Malay Village where it's almost impossible to find a way out, much less get a lot. And the crowd... Oh my goodness! The main road was all clear and I was desperate to get out there before the heavy traffic started up. Alas, I can't even budge cos' the throng of ppl crossing the side road was fiercely making their way to the other side. Like, hello?! Just because there's a lot of you doesn't mean I can never drive out of that hell-hole! I was nagging and nagging about how I've told my parents to take a bus but they are just soooo stubborn... yadaa..yadaa...

I made it out by stubbornly inching out (as suggested by my dad) and making the crowd realise that I-am-driving-out-no-matter-what-so-you-ppl-better-halt-it. My mum had said City Plaza carpark over and over and I kept thinking about Lion City Hotel (for some unknown reason) so I turned left at the next junction. Yet another BIG mistake. So I had to drive all the way into Mountbatten which was infested with multiple road-works and had road diversions, dead-ends and one way lanes in all the wrong places (maybe it's just me who's frustrated...)

I was very much appeased after managing to find many empty lots in City Plaza. Turns out, my other uncle was also lost (there're 3 cars, total). We exchanged our misadventures of driving thru' Geylang at that time and found out that one of my uncles almost run down a bunch of teens who tot' they're sooo small that they can all squueze on the tiny kerb in the middle of the road.

.... I'm not talking about what goes on at the bazaar cos' it's the same every other year. Just that I was still so full from my meal of pizza and KFC during buka only hours before that the sight of food all over the place just made me sick. :-x

PS: Forgot to pass the passports to Natra, despite meeting her... sheesh.

**********
09102005*1000-1805*Sunday
Went into j.b again. This time it's a 'makcik-fest'. Bro & I drove my mum and 2 aunts for their grocery shopping. It's so weird to go into j.b and not having any intentions to eat. Haha!

My bro's habit of driving fast caused us to miss the Smart market, much to all the 'makciks' dismay. He's an idiot, ok. They ladies were looking around for signs leading to the market and him driving fast only made all the words on the signs look blurred. So they have to be contented with shopping at Giant. The dismal feeling of not being able to shop at Smart was felt further when a relative who lived there told us there there is a Thai bazaar going on. Too bad we're running out of time. I would soooo love to purchase the dried shrimp chilli flakes that I was sooo addicted to (and had run out of)...

By time we hurried to reach the rest-area at Gelang Patah, it was only 4pm and it was freaking hot! So hot that when I looked in the mirror after reaching home, I saw that skin that was covered by my big-ass sunglasses was obviously fairer that the area that was exposed. And the teeny-weeny 'bazaar' there was in the middle of the parking lot!

I remember telling my bro while we're there, "It's still early, won't it be really boring to reach home so early...?" I guess, back then, I haven't considered the time taken to fill of the petrol, buy some gum, passing thru' the customs, drop both my aunts off AND getting caught in a traffic jam at ECP. To think that we're so worried about getting caught in a jam at the customs... Sheesh! We reached home at 6.05pm, leaving us with not much time to sort the groceries, send food to the neighbours and prepare for buka....

PS: Boy, I'm glad dun have to go to Natra's place to pass the passports cos' Yan spotted our car at Tuas Checkpoint (where he worked) and I just passed him the passports there. Hope we dun look like we're smugging some counterfeit passports....

The freaky 'unknown'

The freaky 'unknown'

It's pretty scary funny how 2 persons that you've known as a couple for a number of years eventually marry someone else. And yes, I'm talking about the BOTH of them. Both got hitched kinda' recently and only months apart from each other.

If outsiders like me had wished to see their then relationship evolve into marital bliss... What about them? Maybe what I see here is just the end product. What goes in between... well, that's NOT for me to know.

It's freaky isn't it? This UNKNOWN.... also known otherwise as.... FATE.

"Kita Merancang, Tuhan Menentukan..."

We can plan but it's God that eventually decides. Things happen for a reason so let's just take things as they come.

Sorry, just a random thought. Maybe I'm just expressing my insecurity.

Oh by the way, TO ALL MUSLIMS out there:
It's the (very) Holy month of Ramadhan. I pray that your worship and goodwill will be blessed with the virtue bestowed upon those who sincerely carry out this 3rd Rukun Islam.

Amin.

should have smelt a rat...

should have smelt a rat...
saturday.01102005

...But I didn't. Geez!

Day went on normally. Sent the laundry. Washed the car. Went to Parkway. Went to Bedok. Bought some flowers, followed by some soft drinks (which I assumed are to be brought along tomorrow when we go to the cemetary). I naively thought that all my relatives are gathering there. Then my mum purchased some chicken wings. All 4 kgof them. When she started marinating them at home, again I assumed that she's gonna pack some food for tomorrow's cemetary visit. Somehow, it doesn't cross my mind that I'm going to the cemetary, NOT having a picnic at some park somewhere with my relatives.....

Then when I'm busy reading the newspaper, my dad insisted I clear my stuff from the living room. The way he did it, it reminded me that this occurs only when someone is coming. But I brushed that idea aside. Watched soccer and played this Malay VCD and eventually settled for this M'sian drama which is sooo boring that I was nodding off....

...Until I heard some voices outside my door. FAMILIAR voices. Glanced at the clock. 11 pm. What the....? Next thing I knew, saw my maternal cousins rushing in, grinning from ear-to-ear. My aunt also had that same 'sneaky' look. They put some bags in my hands. Things happened so fast, everything beacame a blur. Felt something heavy weighing my right hand down. I looked. A CAKE????? Huh?!

Was sooo sleepy that it took sometime for it to dawn upon me that they're giving me a surprise belated-b'dae bash. Geeeez!

The cake came with 2 big candles and a-certain-number-of small ones. I insisted on using ONLY the 2 big ones. This is in hounour of ALL the people who have asked me which school I'm (still) in. Especially those who declared that I 'do-not-look-more-than-20'. You ARE the very people who never fail to light up my day with every time you ask me such cute questions...

THANK YOU. Heh.

You see that? I didn't even think about changing. I was wearing my TWEETY BIRD PJs for goodness sake! Was even lugging around the Mashimaro that I sleep with. And I'm more than just 2 big-candles-old. Sheesh!

I know about what they say of belated birthday celebrations and all.... But hey! It's not my own initiation...!

Back in the kitchen, my mum actually had all the paper plates and cups ready. She brought out the cans of soft drinks that we purchased just now. Ahhh.. it all make sense now. So EVERYONE is aware.... All except me of course. Even my bro who's at work knows about this.

Seriously, these kinda' things-surprises and all, works REALLY well for me cos' I'm known to be the blur-block. The gullible one amongst my relatives, BOTH maternal AND paternal. HERE is another instance, back on my birthday-according to the Islamic calendar. Yes, I celebrate my birthday 2x a year. My paternal side celebrate my Islamic birthday. My maternal, the regular one.

ANYWAY..... Thank YOU so much ~ Suzy, Effy, Natra, Ika, Bik Su, Paman Aweng for bothering to come down so late at night for that mini celebration. Thank you Yan and Hajar for remembering. Thank you ALL. This year has indeed, been full of fond memories.... ;)

AND... I really, really love the gifts. How'd you know I'm craving for a pair of Havaianas...? And a new bracelet?

And to you too, Sri. My dear, dear collegue. For that pair of MASHIMARO car-seat headrests. Now, everyone can recognise my car. My bro ain't too pleased but that's HIS problem. Teeheehee...!

This lady called D

This lady called D

Met her while on the KL-Sepang trip recently. She came together with her beau (pillion, lah). We were the 1st batch in that trip and the only gals were Tini, her & myself so I can't help noticing her.Thing is, she doesn't really mingle and she came across as pretty arrogant aloof. Kinda freaky. I only asked for her name. She answered and that's it.

When we lazed around at Sepang, where we purchased the tix on the 1st day, she just stayed by her beau and believe me, her demeanor back then really made me keep my distance. Even when we reached KL (and eventually got lost) and snapped pics at Dataran Merdeka, she just stood by the bike. I remember telling myself, "She's gonna be a hard one..." A definite tough nut to crack.

I eventually found out that she needed the toilet urgently (hence the tense 'aura' and tough attitude) and was the first to try out the sanitary amenities of our rented apartment. Needless to say, she loosened up a weeny bit after that. Took the cab with her to KL Sentral and sat with her on the monorail. By the time we're in Planet H, we started clicking.

The next day, we got lost together in the hustle & bustle of the hell-hole bazaar at Jalan Masjid India. All that din... Ugh! There, we discovered our similar shopping habits and many others things. Oh, before that, I discovered that she's into Spongebob Squarepants! Ha! Later, we ventured the late-nite bazaar at Damansara and bought similar rubber rings. Well, that's before I lost a weeny bit of patience and scampered off with Ju. Hehe.

The best part is the last day, on the way to Sepang. I joined her in Is's & Ju's car and thru' our nonsensical chatter/ramblings, I discovered how much we had in common, even down to the same school (SP). Freaky!

Back in S'pore, we chatted on MSN (even during office hours) and eventually met up again yesterday. Thanks for recommending me that perfume. And not forgetting the dinner treat. That was some crazy time we had at that rest'n! On your birthday, it gonna be MY turn to pay for our meal, aite?

I finally found a gal who shared an ALMOST similar taste in Rock & Metal music. SOAD, Disturbed etc and our favourite CD being the QOTD soundtrack. Woo hoo! My brother is impressed that we finally had a passenger and we dun' need to change the CD while giving a lift. And the fact that she's a lady...!

And he's kinda' cheesed that she's wearing the KREATOR concert tag. Yeap, she went to the gig in KL, much to my bro's envy. Heh. Love the part where the 3 of us sang along to those ear-blasting music when sending her back. Oh, know something? When I asked my bro, what's his impression of her, he said, "She's quite a chatter-box, ain't she?" Haha! That is such a contrast to MY first impression of her!

...So Deanna, when's our next meet-up?

Thanks, y'all

Thanks, y'all

He made me wait up for him but I didn't last and dozed off in front of the tv. By the time he came back from JB, it was 3am, I think. He insist that I woke up. When he saw my eyes open, he pushed this clear plastic bag to me. I've seen that bag before... but where...?

I looked in. A clear box. There's something inside.... I struggled with the box. Heck, I just woke up... He opened it up for me. I think HE is the excited one. I saw it. OMG! It's what I've always wanted! A SWATCH SCUBA! The REAL one!

"From Daddy, Mummy & Me. From us," he said. "Happy birthday."

Gee, thanks.... Darn, I'm still sleepy. I hope this ain't all a dream....

"Oh ya. Got you tiramisu & choc. fudge cake." And pushed a small white box to me. Cute. But....

"Dude, you know what time is it now? You dun expect me to eat cream cake in the wee hours of morning dun' ya..? I'll eat it tomorrow, can??"

True enuff', before he left for work, I brushed my teeth and took out the cakes. Tot' he'll chomp it with me. He cut a small piece, fed me and said, "Nah, happy birthday, girl." Took a bite for himself and left for work. I finished both slices anyway. Gotta' please him.

He is, after all, my brother. My only sibling. My bestest friend. Love ya' bro. Love y'all. Thank you so much for the gift....

KL-Sepang '05

The tix n pass
Originally uploaded by crush-ice.

Heya, I'm back!
*warning* Looong entry ahead.

Actually since Monday... But damn tired, liao! Didn't wanna take leave on that day cos' there's a pile of projects waiting on my table and I reached home only at 2+am that Monday, meaning I'm left with less than 4hrs sleep.

Monday is already on my list of not-so-favourite day plus the exhaustion of being on the road for hours and the lack of sleep, I'm surprised that I was seated at my office desk that day. No mean feat, I tell you!

The trip was more than all right. Hey, after all, this is my very first trip to KL without my family. No such things as haggling for kains and other what-nots in Masjid India (the 'makciks haven'). We did make a trip down there but it's just different, if you get what I mean.

We didn't really get off on a good start. Some really cute planning by Tini & her fiance saw me with bleary eyes early that Friday morning when I met them at 2am for supper before setting off at 530am to JB. Then there's the wait for 'the others' a.k.a some 9 other bikes that last for all of an hour plus at the petrol station.

Then we kena stopped by the f***ing police (just a couple of them) who saw a 'big S'pore car' and negotiated with us to pay them RM50 and "they'll forget about the fine". What bullcrap! No speed detector, no camera and they say were going at 125kmph. Wah, so precise, ah?! You keep your detector in your pants, issit?!

Oh, that's not the only one. In fact there's another stop right after we left the rest area @ Air Keroh. Except this time, it's the 'real' one. You can see their superior (shoulder studs and all) over there and there are like a bunch of them. Kena a 'real' ticket this time. All the bikes kena stopped but only a few got the golden ticket. Heck! Just because it's the racing weekend, doesn't mean we're racing down the highway, okay??

That day alone, we got lost twice. One, while on the way to Sepang to purchase the tix. The other one is the cute part. A case of 'Soooo near yet, SOOOO FAR'. We missed the exit that will lead to our rented apartments by a mere 10metres or so but due to the peak hour traffic and the absence of a road shoulder, reversing is a big no-no so we drove into KL (during the peak rushing-home hour) and had to take a breather in the end by chilling at Dataran Merdeka (of all places) and take fotos... Eventful, huh?

In the evening, we called reception to book us 4 taxis but none wanna take us to Bintang Walk cos' that place is freaking jammed up so we have to settle with taking a cab to KL Sentral and take the monorail from Brickfields. By then, it's 9pm and everyone was famished. When they say they wanna eat Chicken Rice I was like.. huh? Come all the way to KL eat Chix Rice??? But the dish was a real kick-ass. Real Hainan taste. No regrets!

Planet Hollywood was ok. Play pool, chill. The music is sooo not my taste. Didn't dance. Can't even dance. Won't dance. Period. Too tired and sleepy. Left early. Oh, it was ladies nite so I entered for free!!!! The fact I have to show my IC amused me to bits. End of Friday.

Saturday morning, woke up and Tini was haggling Odi to go swimming. In the end he went to buy breakfast and Tini, myself and another gal plus a bunch of the guys jumped into the apartment pool. Kinda small but got mini waterfall and jacuzzi. Hah! The bonus? They actually reared some PENGUINS! Hahah! The pratas they brought back for breakfast was big-ass! Almost the size of an A4 paper.

Some guy was so stubborn he went ahead to Genting with a loose screw on his bike. Not surprisingly the screw came off so they had to send an xtra screw to him and sabotage our shopping plans. Dammit. Slept awhile (when I'm already all dressed up). When I woke up, they're still not back. Others slept while I watched this Hindi movie. Yeah, I'm VERY bored. I dun fancy such movies but what to do? TV has only 4 pathetic channels.

Oh ya, I recalled hearing some noise outside. One guy was banging on a door at the end, "Oi, open the door, lah oi!!!" He looked scary. Tall, big-sized, bald and clad in all black. Thing is, he's also in our group. So why the heck is he banging on THAT door?

Yeap, you got it right. He got the room no. wrong. Should see the look on his face when I looked at him from outside OUR door. Sheepish! Hee. Needless to say, 5 mins later the security came by..... That fella was hiding inside the bedroom, I think.

We had to skip KLCC & Times Sq. and head straight for Masjid India.... I dunno there's a freaking loooong bazaar there. My mum would love it but I was soooo... cheesed out. So much food.. all that din and the heat... Uuurgh! Dinner was at this Indian Muslim rest'n. They wanted air-con so we end up booking the whole room cos' there are more that 20 of us. The feast was... weird. I dunno, each one of us end up having different dishes on our plate. Like some mix & match game.

We skipped Petaling Street cos' this KL couple, Is & Julia that we hung out with-who is also our guide took us to this uber-cool bazaar at Damansara that opens after midnight and has a much better atmosphere. Friendlier sellers, trendier crowd, less noise and the place is spacious and open. I spent a lot there. Head back to our apartment at 3am. Started packing. We gotta wake up at like... 7????? Darn. End of Saturday.

Was woken up by this frantic knocking on the door. I was asleep on the sofa and was still stretched out when they guys swaggered in, all fully-decked in riding gear. WTF??!! Checked my hair. Phew, still in place. Gotta look cool, babe. Nobody wants to see a girl looking like a witch upon waking up. Put on my specs. and pulled my knees closer to the chest, looking like 'hey-I-just-woke-up-but-I-still-look-presentable-don't-I'? Ooooh, sexay! *Ahakz* Ignore those lines. I just woke up, remember?

The guys gonna find some good seats so they set off darn early to Sepang and they wanna fix up the banners as well. Enthusiatic fellas. By the time we awoke, washed up and checked our stuff, it was almost 10am. Ju & Is came by and we head for breakfast at this warung which seemed kinda' popular. Just look at the crowd! The Nasi Lemak is indeed kick-ass. All self-service. I was a bit worried thou, eating sambal in the morning. Luckily I didn't order coffee w/ milk. My belly sure can't take it.

Got into Is's & Ju's car. Deanna (who took a break from riding with her beau) & I started talking rubbish which spanned various, unrelated topics cos' we have this similar problem of talking crap when we are sleepy. Ju slept so Is ACTUALLY listened to our crappy conversation. He later told his wifey that we're 'gossiping'. Whatever, dude. By the time we changed currency, top-up petrol and manoeuvered our way to Sepang after making circles like 3x cos' we lost our way (live in KL also can get lost...), it was almost 2pm when we reached the race track. Darn hot! They other guys' mission to set off early was not wasted. We were directly facing the YAMAHA pit and both you and I know who's sitting in there. Yeap, Mr big, curly hair cum World Champion, Valentino Rossi.

My poor Daniel Pedrosa (of 250cc) was out of the race cos' he crashed. But he's still champ. Yeah! The atmospere was electric by the time they warm up the bikes' engines. That vroom-vroom from inside the pit was orgasmic! Heh.

The noise from the engines when they started racing took me by surprise. I was sure that the sensation felt in my ears was like my ear-wax melting (not that I have a lot). The rest, well you should have an idea, if you caught the race on tv, that is. The ooh-ahhs when Gibernau & Nakano crashed or the cheering when Rossi got in front.... Frankly, I would rather watch the race on tv. At least I have a clear idea as to what goes on at the rest of the track and not simply rely on what I see on that big screen or on the track in front of me. But the sound makes this trip worth it. Ear-blasting but niceee....

Was looking forward to meeting my friend there but seeing the crowd, I guess I just have to solely communicate with him thru' SMS. The weather was darn hot by the time the race ended. And the walk to the main gate was so darn far! Sure to get sunburnt. And the crowd in the souvenir shop was... Need I say more...? After that, we head for home.

Chatted with Cat in the backseat. Had some heart-to-heart talk and I was amazed at her EQ level! She's so darn good with matters-of-the-heart. We soon nod off and by the time we woke up, the car had stopped and we're at Pagoh, Melacca. Darn them! Never woke us up before stopping! I stumbled out of the car. FYI, I slept with my face looking out so EVERYONE can see me sleeping. Paiseh, man!

Best part, went to the loo and didn't realize that my fly was open till' we're off to JB. Arrrghh!!!!! I hope that happened when I got into the car... You know like, it opened suddenly.... I hope.

They can still chill and have supper @ JB when I have to work early next morning.... Dunno how I survived....

drats!

Drats, drats, drats!

I'm still in the office, gotta' purchase some necessities later after returning my library books, send my mum, fetch my pal, PACK FOR MY TRIP and then wake up at 4 freaking AM cos' I gotta meet my pal at 5 AM and set off by 530 cos' we gotta leave S'pore by 7.

Tell me... Do i have sufficient time for all this??!

Know what's dumb? Knwing that I'm running out of time and yet still have the cheek to blog. Pfft!

Gonna watch Motor GP @ Sepang. Woohoo!!!!

Will be back in S'pore on Sunday night/Monday morning. I didn't take leave for Monday. Goodness knows how I'm going to survive the blues....

Ciao.

lightning, tuna & tv mobile

At this rate, we won't be needing street lamps...

Until recently, I didn't know that I was THAT damn scared of lightning. Well, who won't be when they keep searing across the sky like...EVERY minute or so?
Geez, felt like some Hollywood star, all those light flashes coming at you, except that they come right from the sky. All thousands of kilowatts of them.

Especially those that happen when it wasn't even raining. Or like what I've been thru' twice, at twilight. Right after I stepped out of the office. Pfft.

*****
Either I stuff myself unecessarily or you start listening properly...

Geez, my bro & I had better improve on our communication techniques.... Just a moment ago, I saw him coming back with a loaf of bread and he told me he wanna make tuna sandwich (or so I tot').

I dunno what got over me; while running the anti-virus scanner on the PC, I proceed to prepare my fav. recipe of Grilled Cheesy Tuna sandwich for him. I actually finished preparing the WHOLE can, ok. When the aroma of grilled cheese & tuna start wafting through the house, my bro (sounding alarmed), asked, "Ti, what are you baking?!!"

"Your tuna, lor. I tot' you said that you wanna eat tuna sandwich??"

"That's for TOMORROW. To bring to work. You mean you are grilling it now???"

Erk....! I looked at the clock. *slaps forehead*
Clever, clever girl. What a smartass. Just who the heck would wanna eat ANYTHING past 12 midnight after having eaten dinner less that 3 hours ago??!

So my bro took it upon himself to gobble down the sandwiches cos' they've already been toasted and leaving them for tomorrow will mean that we'll be feasting on Grilled Cheesy Tuna CRACKERS instead. Besides, I have this personal policy of not consuming anything after midnight, unless I want to sleep right before 4am....

*****

Drats that TV Mobile!

Had I stayed longer on that bus, it would have been the first time I watched a full episode of Shooting Stars. Really!

My collegue alighted just 2 stops away from me and this lady was quick in taking over that seat before I could even shift my bum out. I sensed trouble as soon as I saw her eyes transfixed on the tv screen.

Heck, she was even giggling aloud at this kinda' cute scene where Olinda was daydreaming. As soon as she noticed me looking at her with that 'I-know-it's-funny-but-your-giggling-scares-me' look, she pretended to cough. Just how corny is that?!

And when I was already standing up, all poised to slip past her to alight, she was too much into the show to even hear my, "Excuse me" x 3. What the..? She's lucky she heard me clearing my throat (on purpose, of course) or I would have to resort to stepping on her toes to get her attention. She just had NO idea how far I have to walk, should I miss that stop.

*****
I remembered, sometime last week, my bro was urgently calling me from outside the gate, asking me to let him in quickly.

Seeing how restless he was and the fact that his keychain was sticking outta' his bag and yet he asked me to unlock the gate hurriedly, I assumed he need to use toilet a.s.a.p. Then he said (urgently), "Ti, Jamie Oliver! Quick!!!"

Huh? I just checked cable Channel 16 (Travel & Living) and it was the dudes from Surfing The Menu. What Jamie Oliver?? I just looked at him while he fumbled with the remote.

"Ti, Jamie Oliver! What channel?" So I told him the ONLY channel that played cooking programmes at that hour and true enuff', it was the 2 surfer dudes/chefs roasting some lamb somewhere.

"Where's Jamie? I just watched it! Couldn't have ended!" He was almost exasperated.

So I asked, "What channel was that?" He replied, "TV Mobile...."

I kept on staring at him with the, 'are-you-trying-to-kid-me' look until it dawned upon him that TV Mobile does NOT exist at ANY home. Unless u live at some government facilty complex or some other public place.

"Let me guess. U watched Jamie Oliver on the bus?" And I continued rubbing salt to the wound, "Try tuning to 89.3 fm. Maybe you can listen to him sputtering (like Daffy Duck) bout' his cooking over the airwaves..."

taking leave.

The past week had been a pretty tiring affair. A new major project came up; my collegue & myself gotta prepare dwgs and other stuff that's essential for the site measurements we eventually did of that particular 7-STOREY industrial bldg. Took us 3 freaking days.

3 days filled with bitter-sweet memories. Of dust & grime. Of office politics and bitchiness. Of exhaustion. Of the helpfulness and co-operation shown, the friendliness and the kindness of that gorgeous lady who went all the way to buy us 2 cans of coke from the vending machine. For that, I Thank You. It's been an experience.

**I dun' really fancy Coke but I was so touched by that sweet gesture that I drank it anyway. Needless to say, I burped all the way. Geez all that gas! I sure come across as someone with a severe case of flatulence...
*****
Taking leave.

After much deliberation/procrastination and thought, I finally agreed to join my long-time pal, Tini for the trip this weekend (after 19 years, it's finally our first overseas trip together!)

And today, I was supposed to inform my boss of my taking leave this Friday and boy, do I procrastinate! (FYI, it's really easy to obtain leave from my company cos' aside from my collegue & myself, it's just my boss & his wifey)
Had a briefing by my boss just now and I saw him delegating 4 DIFFERENT PROJECTS to be done by this week. *bangs head on keyboard*

I was panicking, cos' I really thought that I might have to discard the idea of going for this trip that I SOOO wanted to be part of. Whyyyy?! Why.... this week??!
Why not 2 weeks ago when I sure had no other plans and was rummaging around for ANY work to be done? When I was at loss as to what to do cos' there's just NOTHING to be done? Null. Zilch.

I dunno what happened then (cos' I kinda' got all woozy from all that panicking) but I think he was setting the datelines for the respective projects and when I heard him mentioning, "Friday," I immediately blurted out, "Oh dear. I forgot to inform you that I'll be taking leave this Friday..."

I complete that statement with this alarmed look plus the slight scratching of the head just so it will seem like something that had really slipped my mind and just recalled. Yeah rite! I was simply waiting for the right moment to inform him. Never thought that I've to put on a little act at the same time.... Geez!

He was surprised. Bet he was thinking that this employee of his has such an immaculate timing. "Ok.... So we push the deadline earlier..." Pause. "...Will you (by any chance) be in, Friday morning?"

That guy is seriously pushing his luck, here.

Mouth agape, (yes it's an act, so?) my mind start whirring back to the SMSes I received from Tini, telling me that we'll be setting off (very) early Friday morning. Before dawn, in fact. Cos' we gotta whisk that weekend-plate car thru' the customs before the clock strikes 7.
"Ermmm.... Nope. I'm taking the WHOLE day off."
Dun' make me tell you what time I gotta' get outta' this country....

Well at least now I know that I'm DEFINITELY going on that trip. *Toodle-dee-dum...*
I'm definitely elated-despite the fact that I'll be going on a full-force overtime all the way till' Thursday. Well, anything for a much desired break. Anything... *Tra-laa-laaa......*

Still awake??!

Erk...? Still awake??!

When I post my previous entry, I said I wanna sleep cos' I'm gonna be ready to drive out to j.b tomorrow. Look at the time now.

Why do I have to stumble into r*****'s blog and read it at this ungodly hour???
Cos' he's so obscenely funny, that's why. And his farnee posts are also so damn blardee long and related to one another that I can't help reading all at one shot.

My bro won't be back till' almost dawn so he will be zonked out tomorrow later. Meaning, I'll be the driver for the day. And I have to be awake like... in less than 4 hours? (if I ever sleep, that is) How to survive, like that?

KNNBCCB

Great. Now I'm blogging like him. Pfft.

traffic light

Title: (dumb) TRAFFIC LIGHT

I'm very much incensed with this stoopid telemovie I just watched on the M'sian channel TV3. The title? TRAFFIC LIGHT. Quite a dumb title huh?

Storyline: Guy likes girl. Girl like someone else. Dejected guy agreed to parent's choice and marry another. Girl realise mistake. Try to look for guy. Her boss confess to loving her. Always help her. SO CHEESY..! (yet I still watch)

But there are some philosophical lines voiced by the lead actor (guy who likes girl) peppered into the otherwise dumb script.Like how he told his wife, "What a blessing it was to be able to learn to love someone after marriage, cos' the love is more significant when you can learn to love someone whole-heartedly... (no holds-barred cos' they are married, after all...)" That's NOT what he said EXACTLY, but it's more or less like that. Hope you get the idea.

Another one is, "Life is like a traffic light. When it turns red, that's when you know you gotta stop." He quoted that when it dawned upon him that the girl he's after is not meant for him after all and decided to stop hoping for her to requite his feelings. "And when it turns green, you gotta' move on (with your life)..."

I assumed that's the reason for the dumb-sounding title of the drama.... That is-UNTIL I watched the ending. The DUMB ending.
... Girl saw guy (with his wife) driving off in his car. Girl took a cab and went after him. Car stop at TRAFFIC LIGHT (gettit???). Girl got off (she paid the cab driver, of course) and confront guy. They talked things out (all the while at that TRAFFIC LIGHT). Guy (his conscience clear) is honest and introduced his wife. Girl (a bit psycho) got into a state of denial and and stepped back.....

Yes, very predicatable isn't it? As always, when u r on the road what happens? Another car comes by (like...DUH!). Guy ran after girl. Saved her. Guy died. Poor wifey (pregnant, even!) had to see hubby die. Dumb. DUMB. DUMB! Why the TRAFFIC LIGHT???? No other place to talk things out, ah?

The best part is, poor wifey gotta' get on with life with a kid without her hubby. Psycho girl? She decide that the boss (yes, he's still in the picture) and her are meant for each other after all. She marry him. That is SO UNFAIR!!!!!

Did I say that this story is DUMB? Why did I even watched till' the END??!!!

Geez, being pissed does tire me out. Gotta sleep now (at the earliest time this week). Gotta drive into J.B tomorrow. Expecting to get stuck in a massive jam when I return (have to prepare for that). End of school holiday, what.....

PS: Does THIS DATE seem familiar, or what? PEACE.

The flying papadum

And the moral is...

Went to a jemputan a fortnight ago, (I know it's pretty long ago but I just recalled this incident just now and felt the urge to blog it out) where I saw some papadums (the Indian crackers, YUM!) which was placed on the dessert table (maybe the dishes table were full). I took some for myself. My parents were surprised there's papadums. Guess they didn't notice. I gave one of mine to my mum (I onli took 2).

Anyway, mum finished eating first but I'm still struggling with my food and I just finished off the last bit of my papadum. Wanna ask a favour from my mum to take some for me. However, seeing that she's started drinking, I held back and waited till' she's done.

While waiting, I overheard 2 makciks (aunties) talking loudly behind me, on how crowded it was and they needed to find seats (cos' they chose to get the food before getting a seat). Suddenly a gust of wind blew and I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see who that was. No one. I turned back to face the table, and I saw A PAPADUM LANDING RIGHT SMACK ON MY PLATE!

I heard one of the makcik behing me saying, "Alamak, keropok aku terbang!" (Oh no, my cracker flew away!) So that tap was actually the papadum flying. Hee...

Dah rezeki aku agaknya (Guess it's my good luck, here). My mum was giggling by then while I was aghast. I looked at her and told her that I was ACTUALLY waiting to tell her to take a papadum for me and one actually LANDED on my plate!

Alhamdulillah. Maybe it's berkat Allah buat seseorang anak yg tidak lokek dgn ibunya sendiri dan sanggup menunggu dgn sabar sblm meminta sesuatu dgn ibunya. Ni bukan kes masuk bakul angkat sendiri, ok. Just tell y'all that all good things done will reap good outcomes. Especially to your parents. Syukran....

Question answered...

Another chance...

I decided to give my PC another shot. What gives me the drive to try it out is the fact that after I cleared the area (table, actually) up a bit, I have a decent workstation. No, really!

I used to sit on the corner of my bro's bed cos' it kinda' got in the way and there's no space to squeeze the chair in. The bed's pretty low so my hand is perched high on the table and it's pretty ridiculous, moving the mouse around in that position. Now, realizing that a sofa-bed is a sofa bed after all, I fold the bed up, shift it in and VOILA! I got space! Yee hah!

Ok, so my PC is still mute but who cares! I got more space! More DECENT space.
********
Question answered...
02092005

Every now & then, I tend to make daft decisions. You know, when you wake up one morning and realized you have no plans made with anyone so you decide to spend some time by yourself?

Yeah, last Friday, I decided to make my way to the library. I dunno why, actually. The date due for my books is 1 week away and I've already made plans to go with my cousins this weekend. I just feel like it.

So I wore my favourite shoes and lug the 3 thick books I've borrowed. I set my mind on heading to Marine Parade Library after work. I like it there. But I do contemplate on the new National Library, seeing that I've yet to explore more of that place... Nah, Marine Parade's nearer.

In the back of my mind I knew that 2 buses go to Marine Parade from Paya Lebar. When bus no. 70 came, I hesitated. Does this bus go there? *tried peering at the bus no. post*
Yeah, I remember a certain 70-ish no. Ah, whack it! I board anyway. Suddenly I heard a lady behind me asking the driver, "Does this bus go to Suntec?" Hmm... Fishy. I didn't stick long enuff' to hear the reply.

Somehow my instincts kicked in and I began to feel uneasy when the bus kept right after the Singapore Post bus stop. And I knew that I'm in for it when the bus really TURNED RIGHT instead of GOING STRAIGHT towards Katong. wtf??

It suddenly dawned on me that the bus that goes to Marine Parade is 76 and NOT 70.
That's it, girl. You've taken the WRONG BUS! *slaps forehead*
In my horror, I forgot to alight at the next stop and stayed put. It was already dark and I realized that I may not know where this bus is headed.

I recalled the question the lady asked the driver when she board just now...
Yess!!! SUNTEC! (but did the driver answered, "yes or no??")

So I've had my question answered. Marine Parade or National Library? The National Library, baby. The National Library.....

PS: The Nat'l Library is a mere 5-10mins walk from Suntec City....

When love & hate collide....

When love & hate collide....

I've always had a love-hate relationship with my home PC. And I'm hating it now. That's why I've not switched it on for almost 2 weeks. That also explains why I've not uploaded those 2-week old pics from my digicam and fone (and I was VERY trigger happy back then. Imagine the no. of pics I have to sort later...)

That clearly explains the lack of updates.

Same reason why some guys treat their mobiles like their gal, that's how I treat my PC. My baby... Maybe because it's the one thing that I paid for straight from my pocket that cost so much. Something that cost so much shouldn't give too much trouble, shouldn't it? Rite? rite...?

Bah.

Maybe I'm just miffed because the PC just isn't emitting any sound aside from those little beeps you hear upon start-up. Either the sound card or the speaker's down. Those hundreds of MP3s I have are pretty redundant unless I burn them into cds and listen to them mp3s on the radio. Dammit.

apologies

erm.....

Pardon my non-existence in the blogosphere currently. Borrowed some books from the newly opened National Library and I can't seem to do anything else.

Adios!

Till' I finish reading them books, I shall not return.

Oh, what I did when I went to the library is another different thing altogether. Till then...

till' the weekend

till' the weekend comes by....

I know I've never been a good blogger (ie. one that updates regularly) but I do feel distressed, knowing that I've not been able to update WHEN I HAVE TONS OF THINGS TO SAY AND I'M GONNA FORGET EVERYTHING BY THE TIME I EVENTUALLY UPDATE.

Sorry bout' that. Having a (very) short memory span sucks and I'm relying heavily on the random photos taken of the activities that I wanna blog about' to remind me of what went on, then.

I still can't update yet cos' I'm currently at work and stealing time to keep awake at my desk. It's Friday for goodness sake!

Besides, my Indonesian relative has been bunking over at my place since she's on vacation and chilling before she sourced for a job after graduating a month back. Believe me, playing host is not easy, if not tiring.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed having her around but changes have to be made to my attitude in MY OWN house in her presence and I can never get used to that.

Oh, did I mention the accent I'm spouting because I regularly conversed with her and getting hooked on the diverse vocabulary I never knew existed (and ignorantly assumed to be similar to our Malay) and that I'm (very much) into the band, PeterPan rite' now?

Don't even accuse me of being cheesy cos' I'm gonna get all defensive and say that they play good music and that Ariel, the frontman is really talented, having composed all the songs himself.

Damn, I sure am gonna miss her after she leave tomorrow.....

Napola

Napola~Elite fur den Fuhrer (German)


Dieses ist ein guter Film. Ich mag.

Ok, ok. Lame attempt at German there. At least I still remember what I learnt back in school eons ago.... (Btw, all I said was, "This is a good movie. I like.")

This excerpt from a review from IMDb.com pratically sums up my opinion of the movie:
"....It is no surprise that Napola won various awards for film, acting and direction, It's rich cinematography and haunting soundtrack brings to life Nazi Germany of 1942, and highlighting the horrors of the training of an elitist school of soldiers and future governors, with its expected training tragedies...."

That and the fact that Tom Schilling reminds me of Stephen Gately from the now-defunct Boyzone. I'm definitely a non-homophobic......

BUT THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT.

Shyba, thank you so much for choosing to watch this. Although, your choice is based on the fact that 'it's the most depressing/sombre movie showing right now', I assure you it is one of the best movies on my 'Most Favourites' list.

Bought some wasabi-coated-peas for the show. The girl was was kinda' surprised, I chose that and kept asking, "You sure..?" Should let her see the tube of wasabi in my fridge, which I used to eat with almost anything. However, they should cool it on the wasabe powder on that peas, man. My eyes practically smart upon eating it.

I admit I cried in the theatre. Not once but TWICE. One, it's at the most poignant scene in the movie. The other time is because I used the same hand for eating my WASABI peas to WIPE THE TEARS FROM MY EYES. The pain! Oh GAWD! It hurts like hell!

That's it. No more wasabi peas in the theatre!

Got so angry at myself that I stopped eating the damn peas and kept it. Brought it to work today and munched on it to keep awake. Boy, it sure works better than coffee. Just pop at least 3 of those into the mouth at one go.

Go on, DO IT. Really works, you know.

sepet

SePeT

I know that I may come across as pretty back-dated but despite having JUST watched SePet on VCD (finally!) I am am still going to gush bout' this Malay-movie-with-a-difference. It's a kinda' arty-farty movie, actually. Comes across as borderline obscene by the Malaysian censorship-board standard (it's seriously harmless!)



Oh, did I mention the numerous awards it received?



Would love to drop some comments but realized that others have reflected similar opinions bout' the movie. Just drop by IMDb for the justified reviews....

Anyway, I had planned to watched the VCD alone, before I sleep yesterday night. Somehow, a companion came in the form of my brother, who was curious as to what my muffled giggling was about (the movie DO have funny parts, ok?). He watched the movie ALL THE WAY.

"Have to watch the ending," he said. Yeah, rite! You like the movie, say lah. Don't deny! It's not like I'm going to tell everyone you watched a teenage romance movie...! (I sense some kinda' irony here...)
"Anyway, dude!" I replied. "This kinda' arty movie always have bizarre ending. Almost disappointing to some. Be prepared."

Not surprisingly, I got so traumatised by the ending (or the lack of) that I had trouble sleeping long after the credits rolled. I remembered asking my bro, before hitting the sack:
ME: What's the time now?
BRO: 0145am. Go sleep. You gotta' work tomorrow.

Later on, I remembered jumping up and dashed to my bro's room. He was in the toilet. I shouted outside the door.
ME: Dude! I figured it out! He didn't die! He survived, that's why he can answer the fone!
HIM (from inside the loo): No, I think it was a passer-by who answered. Couldn't be him. (Pause) You mean you didn't sleep cos' you're thinking bout' the ending...?

It was 0230am.

Later on, when I almost dozed off, my bro came up to me.
HIM: Eh, I think maybe it was Ah-Keong who answered. I think, Ah-Keong said he will acccompany him to see her.
ME (groggily): Huh? You mean all this while, in the loo, you were wondering about the ending too? (snickers)
Geez...!

And I conclude:
Overall, the movie is nice. Way beyond my expectations. My only pet peeve was the ending.