Monday, February 27, 2006
*squeals!*
i love this redemption hairstyle.why? why does he have to do the corn rows with curly hair extensions?
*squeals again!*
photo of the family at les amis for dinner last saturday.only managed to upload the photos today when i should have been studying! ARGH.
anyway, it looks rather dark but honestly it isn't.les amis is one of the better lit restaurants.haha.=P like the old st pierre? terrible.shadows everywhere!
the roasted black pig that i ate.=D it looks rather appetising no? though the meat looks suspicously lean and fat less! poor little piggy.starved to death!
the venison!
helloi really should be doing my sea essay but nooo.i'm here.doing rubbish as per normal.like checking up on prices in japan of the malice mizer and gackt dvds!!! my my.the figures are shocking! they go into the thousands of yen! haha.=P which, when you convert it, is cheaper than hmv here.=P which is a good thing!! i've emailed my aunt and i'm hoping like hell she'll agree to buy the stuff for me.it's not cheap certainly but i have no intention of making her pay for everything for me! i will diligently save up and pay her back!! haha.=P better grab this opportunity of teenage crazes while i can because they will soon be deemed far too juvenile for our age.ahh!! i am totally in love with gackt now.this is much like a repeat of my tom schilling era.[not that it was very long ago actually.haha] *beams* was smiling over the photos just now.haha.and was on a high just now.*beams* not quite so perky anymore but still! i love his music! i love his concerts!! [from what i've seen on youtube at least] and it's made me determined to get moonchild [ahem.vcd shops alert!] and his concert dvds.and malice mizer's concert dvds too.because there's nothing better than seeing them perform live.^_^ *beams* i love love love watching the le ciel performance from the merveilles l'espace tour!!! it's like..you know.so rewatchable.i think i've seen it at least 12 times.it will be 13 soon!!! and gackt is so terribly dramatic.which makes it great to watch.=Di realised that he doesn't have many expressions.haha.especially since any that have anything to remotely do with smiling has been eliminated.he has the no expression expression, the pained expression, the yelling into the mic expression, the sexy gaze expression, and urhm..well urhm..the look of determination? haha.and the dreamy look! o yes the dreamy look! haha.and the bored look.as seen in jiamin's jurassic park ride video.haha.and he's always trying not to laugh.but when he does, it's actually quite cute.hahaha.and he can't really dance either.but he's quite good at the sexy gaze and hopping around stage to rev up the audience.and bouncing up and down in squats.and urhm.having the pained expression on his face.and o yes.he loves flying over the audience.i suppose it's this thing he has about being an angel.as seen in le ciel.but i would mind an angel born in 1540.haha.=P not that i believe that nonsense.=P but it's certainly not unbelievable that he can play many many many instruments! *beams* ahh.how talented he is.plus i love his voice! =)so you see.this is not mere surface attraction.because one must admit that gackt occassionally does look rather plasticky.but i remain adamant that his eyelids don't look perfect!!! not like ayumi's!! and thus.he has not had eyelid surgery.hrmph.zhilei just refuses to let me live in this delusional world.sigh.whereas miyavi's uneven eyelids are cause for great distress if anyone should say he's had surgery.xP but the point is.he's nice to look at.both gackt and miyavi! haha.but i haven't had the time to look for gackt images.not yet at least.my sea essay is still sitting before me, glaring at me for neglecting it with only periodic random scribblings that really make no sense.it's probably wondering how it's pristine whiteness could possibly lose to gackt? well.gackt has nice skin too.haha.=P okay.sorry.that made no sense whatsoever.was watching japan mtv again today! *beams* utada hikaru has a new single out! and i saw the latest w-inds single.it is utterly hilarious!!!! hahaha.=P it's funny in a very cute way.firstly, they dance in a very BSB fashion.and the song is very very cute.while the english lyrics are beyond cheesy, i think the song is catchy in a favourable way.but keita is quite cute.so i suppose all is forgiven.=P then they played BoA.again!!! but i think i like the song.except for the scenes where they zoom in on her face and she looks like a rabbit, she looks good throughout the rest of the video.=D not much other interesting songs.no jrock for one thing.why? why aren't they playing gackt? after all, redemption was out only in january!!! SOBS.this new obsession is going to make me very poor indeed.at least with tom schilling i couldn't find a thing so there really wasn't anything i could actually buy.however, gackt products are everywhere!!! it's not like i have to hunt that hard.but they don't have his sixth day seventh night tour in hmv.*frowns* and the malice mizer tour they have there isn't the one i want either.i support only gackt! =P and only merveilles for that matter.since i know the songs from there.and the voyage tour isn't as famous anyway.have i mentioned the 180 buckeroo special limited edition malice mizer box set for merveilles? no? well! since you're so willing to read on, it comes in a special musical box that plays the strings version of bois de merveilles, has the merveilles album, a dvd of the merveilles l'espace concert though i think it's excerpts and not the full thing, one more dvd of this special video of previously unreleased footage of malice mizer and supposedly one more disc of i don't know what.so that's like 3 dvds!!! in one box set!!! and it's limited edition!!! only 10 000 copies in the world!!! AHH!! but 180 buckeroos! painful stuff i tell you.and i bet it'll be over 200 if you can even find it here.SIGH.SIGH SIGH SIGH.and if i want it, i must hope my aunt replies soon and i can beggg her to go look for it at h m wee! that's if i can bear to part with $180.she may even think i'm mad.o dear.alright.the sea essay is glaring daggers at me and it's piercing my heart with much guilt.so much for loving gackt.it's distracting!!! not a bad thing of course.but still.xP i really must get back to work.rawr! and must read the gp package tomorrow.o well.at least gackt's voice will keep me company through the lonely hours of gp package reading and free periods.*beams* what a thought to look forward to.hahahaha.cheers*[-witchstone-]*[music last song unplugged + 12 gatsu no love song gackt][mood tired but cheerful.=D][food broccoli!]ps: AO chinese results are out this wednesday at 3pm.eeps!
Sunday, February 26, 2006
hellooi've discovered the best way to cheer me [and anyone] up.that is, food.=Dreading about food makes me happy! hahaha.=D a rather simplistic view of things but nonetheless true.there's this brand in america of these cookies in a jar! well.not ready made cookies in a jar.but if you dump the contents in a bowl together with butter and eggs and bake them, you get cookies that are damned near homemade.=D cool no? they layer the ingredients together.and since you get the actual things like flour, oats, chocolate chunks and the like, i think you can be quite assured that they aren't feeding you with more chemicals apart from maybe preservatives.but the website claims they don't use preservatives! so just the staying power of dryness then.^_^ however, the price tag is a bit off-putting at US$5.99-US$12.99 a pop, it's not for people who are poor.but if you think about it.this indulgence is cheaper than a LV bag.which i guess..is supposed to make one feel better.=)and then you have pierre herme's book as well as paris sweets to cheer me further! =D i really really really want to try and make punitions.[or rather eat them! AHEM.] but so far, any cookies i've made have never lived up to my standards at all.and are rather terrible.cakes are far easier for me.though many would disagree since many think cookies are easier to make.but cookies are so frustrating!! you have so many zillion cookies to spoon out.rawr! anyway.the point is that i can't make cookies.and i've never tried the real poilane punitions.and really.anything i make will never match up to them but you can always try to make an almost-replica! haha.=P and then many recipes use creme fraiche.which i've never seen in supermarkets, not even cold storage.perhaps culina would stock it.but culina! culina is expensive!! >_<>
so anyway.besides all this food related things [*squeals in delight*], another thing that cheers me [and zhilei] up is all this jrock stuff!! ooh! you know.all the fabulous pictures..the songs [ooh.gackt songs! *squeals*]..the videos..then you have the prettiest guys around..how can that not cheer you up? okay.so maybe for zhilei it's just miyavi.and i'm starting to like gackt.and yes yes.he's rather plastic.but i think he's hilarious anyway.and he looks great in his videos.except for the hilarious dancing.ahaha.vanilla is the best to laugh at.but nevertheless.he has such stage presence!!! and i love his voice! my brother thinks i'm mad.but o well.he liked kyoko fukada.so who is he to talk?! xP so anyway.i like gackt! and apparently, he's inspired 3 final fantasy characters.and we all know how pretty final fantasy characters are.i mean, seriously! xD and he's appearing in the newest one apparently, Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus! he did the theme song.you see.gackt is loved by everyone! i really should have made a gackt template.ahh i know! i can make a template with all these fabulous people and butterflies for this blog!
have i mentioned that jiamin thinks i should stay? no? well, i've just mentioned it.so yea.i'm too lazy to find a new domain that's very much like diary-x.and i can easily recreate a template for this.gotta learn up the blogger html though.well, maybe not easily.since i do need some inspiration for the template image..
did i mention that i wrote a poem? after practically half a year!!! i am proud of myself.=D
so where was i? o yes.gackt.ahh! gackt! i mean..yes.i repeat.he does look rather plastic.but i like his music.and that's what counts right? and i have yet to watch moonchild.*frowns* stupid hmv doesn't stock it.it isn't even in the damned database.do you know how terribly terrible that is?! we must rectify the problem!!! not by making hmv carry it but by searching in other places for the vcd!!! haha.and and and! redemption? his new single? it's on the dirge of cerberus soundtrack.how exciting is that? he did a song for gundam wing [or seed.or whatever gundam it was] and now one for final fantasy.wee! and hyde did for ruruoni kenshin.how exciting! haha.
alright.it's very late.must sleep.so i won't sleep tomorrow afternoon away and not do my SEA essay.xP o well.at the very least, my trusty neeon will be there to tide me through empty hours with wonderful music.like le ciel! *beams* and this new gackt song i discovered on my brother's computer! ok.it's not new as in..it's not newly released.but it's new as in..i've just discovered it.haha.=P and it's actually quite famous.because i recognised it immediately when i heard it.which means i've heard it a couple of times before! exciting.=) and i've reorganized my neeon for easier access to jrock.wee! can't load some x japan in though.very sad.o well.will rectify it one day.*beams*
right right.must sleep.gasp.what a change in mood i've had.haha.yay for food! yay for jiamin! and yay for zhilei! [a bit too perky.O.o]
cheers
*[-witchstone-]*
[music kimi no tameni dekiru koto gackt + crucify my love x japan]
[mood very cheerful]
[food that fried fish thing in sauce]
been reading the livejournal community for diary-x users set up after the server crashed.
and it's heartening to know that other people are as devastated if not more than i am.it's like a common suffering thing.
there are a lot of people angry at stephen [the creator of diary-x] because he turned off the back-up system and thus hadn't backed up the damn site since 2004.but i'm not angry at him.
i'm just really feeling the pain of this.
especially when i know that almost every entry i typed was about 1000 words on average.
and then i think about there isn't a replacement service for diary-x.really.i haven't seen any.
i can't really concentrate on my essay now.o damn it.
it's as if there's a weight on my heart..
sigh.and no i'm not overreacting.if you haven't lost 4 years worth of stuff like that, i really don't think you know how it feels.
o dear.
i just found out something
devastating.
the diary-x harddisk completely died and all information has been wiped out.EVERYTHING.
you have absolutely no idea how devastating this is to me.everything i've recorded for 4 years or so has been absolutely and completely lost.forever.all the memories, funny posts, ridiculous happenings, new people, experiences, everything is gone.i don't know if i should kick myself for not saving each and every post or if i should write this off as one of those bloody technological screwups.or if i should never have started an online diary in the first place.
diary-x is never going online again.and all the templates that i created? all lost.all lost.all lost.along with my entries.all trillion of them.i only have those up to september 2004.
and this is why i remind myself time and again why i really should stick to handwritten journals.
and i'm wondering whether i should even continue this.since it might be lost too.
*cries*
helloo
went to the university fair today with jiamin.it was ok i guess.the UK one is next week, today's was the london one.
i just spent 15 minutes contemplatively sitting at the dining table munching my way through a pack of crispy peanut pancakes and listening to my jrock songs.you can call it disguised daydreaming.but oh..let me live in my fantasy for a while! =P
on the way home today, i saw this french couple [i know they are french because they were speaking in french.doh.] and it surprised me.because they seemed to be carrying out this intellectual conversation throughout the entire bus journey.and so at first i thought that maybe they were like siblings or something.but then after getting off the bus, they did something characteristic of couples.they held hands.which is like, you know..a sign.so anyway, they just carried on with their intellectual conversation the whole way home! [i was walking behind them] and it seemed intellectual because they seemed to be discussing/arguing about something.you know.like how you'd carry out an intellectual conversation.and this surprised me.because most young couples i see don't ever seem to carry out intellectual looking conversations.and they are usually a lot more..AHEM..physical.
and after reading Two Lipsticks & A Lover: A Year in Suspenders by Helena Frith Powell about life in france, it makes a lot of sense.how the french are very into intellectual things.quote:
'The French are persuaded that the enjoyment of beauty and the exercise of critical intelligence are two of the best things worth living for.'
Edith Wharton
which makes you wonder if that means all the french are smart and intelligent to begin with.xP they certainly have a sense of style though.not all of them.but some of them.
anyway, having wasted the entire weekend, i shall have to get down to work on this stupid gp essay.xP o joy.
cheers
*[-witchstone-]*
[music crucify my love x japan]
[mood blue]
[food crispy peanut pancakes]
Saturday, February 25, 2006
oh my goodness.
do you know what i just found out?
valrhona makes
semisweet chocolate chips.i am in shock.
and they have cocoa nibs.
and cocoa powder.
now all i have to do is move to france so i buy everything.
AHH!!! xD
chocolate heaven coming your way here:
valrhona chocolate productsthe prices however, are shockingly high.
sigh.
they have giant bars of chocolate though.the type i always stare longingly at when i go to max brenner's.the giant bars of couverture chocolate.oohhh.they come in 1kg blocks, in 3kg packs.or you can be demure about it and get it by 200g or 250g a tablet.still.it's shockingly expensive.so you can't use this chocolate for just ANYTHING.it'd be such a waste.
there's a chocolate cupcake recipe though.ooh.i don't know if i can bear to spend so much on the chocolate though.it's even more expensive than hershey's which can already break a hole in my bank account at the rate i make chocolate cupcakes.maybe valrhona will be necessary if i one day learn to make chocolate fondant.because using cheap chocolate for it, when you are relying it for the main taste, would be a dangerous endeavour indeed.
perhaps i can first try a valrhona chocolate brownie recipe.haha.
or maybe just improve my cooking skills first.i want to learn japanese cooking too!!! o dear.
helloojust got home from dinner at Les Amis.my dad's birthday dinner though he paid! haha.=P i refuse to see the irony in this.anyway, spent half the day sleeping and attending tuition and the other half eating.=D yay.i actually find that by choosing to willingly go for tuition, i don't dread it quite as much as i used to because i know it's really helping me.something i realised in like, sec 2.so yes.i quite enjoy tuition actually.just a time for one to sit down and do all the math one possibly can in a span of a few hours.=D now if only i can do better in exams..ate at this halal food court in toa payoh.the food was rather forgettable.but my dad had to go to the office [where i was stealing all his cookies.xD] and get stuff so we had to go somewhere nearby for lunch.i guess toa payoh is nice and all, convenient, but i find it a bit too populated.there are so many people!!! it's quite scary.no quiet living there.=Panyway, the point of this post is mainly about the food at les amis.xD ahh! i am now officially in love with that place.the food is fantastic! and i'm not even kidding.okay.so some dishes weren't stellar or even memorable but those that are..=D *beams* yay! i had a great meal there.haha.thanks dad!okay.hrm.i shall TRY to get the course names right.because i'm quite bad at them.the first first first thing you're served is the amuse bouche if i remember correctly.at les amis, you're served 2 things before what you order actually comes.it's like a miniature appetiser [appetisers in this case].and amuse bouche means to literally to 'amuse the mouth'.first amuse boucheyou get cream pea soup in a little shooter glass with a delicate little spoon along with a piece of prawn tempura and garlic mayonnaise [aioli is the french term if i'm not mistaken] speared with a little fork.delightful! =D i drank the soup first since i've this habit of saving what i like best for the last.the soup was delicious! it was so light and glorious in singing the peas praises.it was creamy yet not rich, a perfect balance of peas and cream i must say.=D oh to be able to enjoy such delightful pea soup.i scraped the glass clean.and then came the tempura.ooh.OOH.xD i have renewed love for tempura.it was fried to this light light light crisp and the prawn was fresh and bouncy.i have so very rarely tasted such good tempura.i was practically squealing at the table.xD now this, my friends, is what i want from my tempura.prawns coated in a light batter that is fried to a delicate crisp and practically melts in the mouth when you eat it.the garlic mayonnaise was hardly a disturbance and rather, enhanced the prawn's flavour.the little dab of it was genius and not too much as to overpower the tempura.this amuse bouche was a good sign.the winesurhm.we had one white wine, a riesling, and one red, a pinot noir if i'm not wrong.wine confuses me.the white was yummy.according to my darling brother, it's a dry white which is characterised by the dry, somewhat bitter feeling one gets as an aftertaste.the red was okay i suppose.i'm getting used to its taste.my father is pleased.the breadthey had 2 breads on offer.one farmer's bread and one walnut bread.the farmer's bread was the regular white and the walnut bread was brown.delish! =) especially when eaten with delightful salted butter.my dad wondered if it was appellation d'origine controlee stuff but i have no idea having never had a chance to try AOC butter in my life.since he has, he should have told me!! RAWR.psst.in case you're wondering what the hell appellation d'origine controlee is, i shall share with you an extract from Paris Sweets by Dorie Greenspan:
"Of course, the butter the cognoscenti cherish is, quite literally, la creme de la creme, beurre d'Echire, beurre de Poitou-Charantes, or beurre d'Isigny, the butters that, like France's finest wines, have been given AOC - Appellation d'Origine Controlee - status. An AOC designation means the product's character is dependent on the place in which it is made; with butter, it means that the milk comes from cows that graze close to the creamery...Butterfat is tremendously important for taste, texture, and workability - whatever isn't butterfat in butter is mostly water, and water is not what will make your crust taste luscious. By law, American butters must contain no less than 80 percent butterfat. In France, the law stipulates a minimum butterfat content of 82 percent. Each percentage point of fat makes a difference, so you can imagine the difference you'll taste with French AOC butters - they have a minimum of 84 percent butterfat, but often weigh in at 86 percent."and so now, we are all in the know about AOC.xD i vant to try 86% butterfat butter!! but they don't export AOC butter to this sunny country i think, not without a humongous price tag at least.and while President is made in Isigny, i'm not sure whether it's AOC.=) let's go check.haha.second amuse bouchethis was interesting.it was an egg with its top lopped off to create a hole.in the hole was warm egg yolk [but still liquidy], spiced cream, chives and maple syrup.sounds utterly intriguing no? i usually view such things with dubious hesitation but once i'd mixed everything together, and tasted it, it was delicious.and even better with bread.i wasn't so hot on the spiced cream but together with the egg and the rich taste of maple syrup, it was rather good indeed.=D and the chives were yummy too.the chef had carefully layered the ingredients together, something i realised when my miniature spoon plunged into the cool white cream that concealed the eggy yellowness of the yolk.it was a bit rich on its own but when paired with bread, and even better yet: bread with a slather of butter, it was superb.i loved it! =D yummy stuff i tell you.i still preferred the tempura though.entreeright.time for the entree.my brother and father had the set menu [degustation? i'm not sure if it was.] while my mom and i had a la carte.for our entree, my mom had some asparagus from france with spanish ham and morel mushrooms.my brother and dad had tartare of some ocean fish with blini and various toppings.i had something not on the menu, grilled octopus with tomato marinated in a sauce and spanish ham.i didn't try the asparagus so i can't tell you what it tasted like.but the fish tartare was far better than i expected.tartares and carpaccio scare me but this was refreshing and tasted fabulous on the blini with all the various toppings they provided.but really.what i totally completely loved was my entree.=Dthe octopus was grilled to perfection and was soft though not mushy.it tasted a lot like yakitori so i suspect they had brushed either some soy on it or had marinated it to taste sort of japanese.and this is what i love! japanese and french cuisine together.yum.=D so anyway, with this japanese influence, it tasted fabulous! i loved it.i'm generally not a fan of squid or octopus because i find that the way it's cooked here kills it so that it's either hard or mushy.not the best way to enjoy it.this octopus was so so so good.i was like, swooning over it! haha.it went with the frisee leaves quite well.and although i wasn't THAT thrilled with the spanish ham [my mom was] and the tomatoes, they went pretty well with the octopus.but because of the flavours of the octopus, they went pretty well with the frisee.=D yum.i totally loved it.i can't quite describe the flavour very well but it was really good.*beams*my brother and dad had second entrees.my brother had foie gras while my dad had onion gratin.o my goodness.i LOVED the onion gratin.it was SO good.the foie gras was good too but i'm not that much of a fan.my brother loved it though.so that's good news for any foie gras fans out there.it was delicious because it was a melt in the mouth kind of consistency but i find foie gras a bit too rich for me.but the onion gratin? oh the onion gratin!!! IT WAS SO GOOD.*squeals!* in the dish was a very thin layer of sliced onion.it was obviously oiled with butter which gave it an amazing flavour.then it was very very delicately gratinated with just a touch of cheese before being finished off with what i think is kosher salt [is kosher salt salt flakes? i'm not entirely sure.] and a crack of the pepper grinder.okay.firstly, you have to love onions for this dish.okay.maybe not love.if you just like onions, you'll love them after eating this.but you'll probably hate it if you don't like onions to begin with.because what struck me about the onion gratin was how fragrant and utterly delicious the onions tasted.their..onion flavour, was so magnified by how it was so carefully prepared.the onion was so finely sliced that they practically melted on your tongue.brilliant.=D i loved it.i would have liked to eat more of it with bread but it was my dad's entree! how could i steal it!! okay.so i did steal like, half of it..but that's besides the point.xP and just like the octopus, this onion gratin went fabulously well with frisee.and did i mention how i've discovered wine can actually complement food? =Dle plats [main course in other words]for the mains, my mom and i had the 2 person roasted black pig while my brother and dad had venison.i was quite disappointed with the pig.namely because it was so lean.this, my mother loved.she was like, there's no fat!! =D =D =D while i frowned and glared at the meat."how can you possibly have no fat? you're a PIG.you must have been starved to death o you poor thing!!!" i am highly suspicious of very lean meats.because they invariably mean DRY DRY DRY.and i hate dry meat.it annoys me.especially when you know that you could possibly have juicy meat.but to this little piggy's credit, it was very tender.and well prepared.except for the dry bit.the roasted onion that came with it was delish! as you can probably tell, i love onions.=D unless they raw.and then, i'll only eat salad onions.but i love onions all the same.=) there were 3 types of pork on the plate.meaning, different cuts.not different types meaning different pigs.first, there was what i think is the loin which was the dry bit.then there was this strangely tiny piece that was FABULOUS and crackling with crackling.xD i loved that piece.and i have this feeling it came from some place i don't want to know about.but it was delicious.which just goes to show how far one can go when one's meat is juicy and one's skin is crackling! then there was this giant piece which was really good too because of all the fat like the tiny piece.you see.fat is a NECESSARY thing despite how unhealthy it is.so really, the loin spoilt everything.how people can willingly subject themselves to chicken breast is beyond me.the venison was fabulous though.it was still rare but it was so juicy that i forgive it! =D and the sauce? luscious stuff.^_^ i loved loved loved the celeriac that came with the venison.i keep trying to remember what exactly celeriac is.but i never can remember.at least i now know what it tastes like.=D [i've been wanting to try it having never tasted it before and knowing my mom would give me a bewildered look if i ask her to buy it and cook it.]dessertno fromage for the 2 men who preferred to stick to their tomato tart thing.it was very interesting.tomato stuffed with dried fruit.i didn't personally like it.but they did.and it was served with vanilla ice cream.which is fabulous i must say.les amis makes great vanilla ice cream! =D *beams* it's so light and light and full of vanilla goodness.=D it might not be healthier than regular ice cream but it was so light and it felt so good against the tongue as it melted.oh man.sooooo good.xD i love their vanilla ice cream!!!my mom had the valrhona manjari chocolate fondant with orange blossom ice cream.the ice cream was fantastic.even better than the vanilla.the texture was similar but it was really the fragrance of the flower that hits you with fabulousness.and it certainly didn't taste like orange flower water.the fondant was delicious, oozing with molten chocolate.my mom loved it.she's a valrhona convert! yay! =D she was exclaiming that unlike other kinds of chocolate, this fondant's chocolate flavour just spreads evenly through the mouth instead of merely giving you a burst of chocolate happiness.this, my friends, is prolonged chocolate happiness.which is certainly a one0up from mere happiness.and this is why valrhona is a favourite among the top pastry chefs.apparently, sharffenberger can rival it.but that's not available here.so we'll have to O DEAR! stick to valrhona.=D yay.and i read that valrhona makes the most fabulous brownies.hooray!i had the chocolate cherry souffle [perfumes, ie flavours, change daily] since my brother kept insisting that one simply must try souffle in order to test the skill of the chef.so i dutifully agreed.not that i mind.;) i wasn't thrilled with the cherries that were soaked in kirsch.i'm not fond of cherries soaked in kirsch.kirsch has this distinctive flavour that doesn't thrill me at all.so i donated them all to my very willing brother.the souffle on the other hand? probably the best i've tried in this country so far.you see.most souffles i encounter are SOPPING WET inside.and that irritates me endlessly.i get increasingly unhappy as i carry on eating it.but this one? it was moist certainly, but it wasn't practically sweating into my spoon.the liquid at the bottom was the cherry juice and could thus be forgiven.and it was firm and gorgeous and a fabulous souffle basically.the bits of melted chocolate in the souffle were fantastic.genius i tell you.genius! that's what gave it a real kick! xD plus the chocolate was delicious.oh gosh.i want to make a souffle like that!!! and while souffles i usually get sink almost immediately after it's been placed in front of me, this one stayed upright and happily perched over the ramekin until my brother plunged a clumsy spoon into it, spoiling it's happiness forever.gosh.i loved this souffle.it was so good.*beams*petit fourswhen my dad had his tea and my brother his coffee, out came a selection of petit fours, four for each of us.firstly was this green jelly.i wasn't thrilled with it at all.it had this horrendous artificial flavour of sugar coated around it.and it was far too sweet.secondly came this little brown square.hmm.i peered at it.interesting.though it had a rather frivolous pattern of stars printed on top.what could it possibly me? i gingerly picked it up, thrilled to discover the soft texture of chocolate.=D popping it in my mouth..gasp!! could it be? my favourite combination! chocolate and hazelnut!!! xD thrilled indeed i was.while it was kinda sweet, i loved it all the same.=D third were pink macarons.between them was a layer of sticky strawberry jam.they were so cute! =D mini macarons.i'm not a fan of macarons to tell you the truth.but they are so light that really..there's no harm trying another one to one day find one that i love! ^_^ finally came the caneles.the one thing i've been searching for for so long.caneles! i keep reading about them online and finally! there it is, in the flesh! [not that it has flesh] it was burnt, just like how it's supposed to be after baking in that copper tin.so eagerly, i bit into it and met with..disappointment.it was rather..gluey on the inside.much like malay kuehs if you ask me.o well.at least i've tried a canele.=D they are rather cute despite how they taste though.and thus ended a great meal.and there was great service to boot.the waiters were friendly, enthusiastic and knowledgeable.and if they didn't know, they'd get back to you almost immediately with the information.they were also alert, constantly refilling glasses, clearing plates, that sort of thing.and we had a great table, right in the center..good to observe other diners.;) haha.and they were quite immediate in providing a little stool for the bags.you know.how precious hermes can never touch the floor? they are certainly prepared.though obviously, my bag isn't not meant to touch the floor.haha.i think service contributes a lot to your overall experience.and here, the service didn't disappoint at all.=) yay for them!so once again. thanks dad! and happy birthday! =)transferred many mp3s into thy neeon.*beams* and discovered more gackt and l'arc en ciel on my brother's computer! he is a surreptitious listener of jrock.haha.okay.actually he isn't.he used to like them though.oh gakuto san! =D i think i have at least 30 of his songs already.o dearie me!! i think i'm turning into a bigger gackt fan than i ever thought i'd be.especially when i'm not really given to fangirling.my dad's going to paris in june!!! i've made him promise to buy me food products.YAY.=D now to make a list.haha.i was saying, everytime you visit some place, you must buy something for me!!! and so i now have a list of places he has to go to! =)- laduree [there's one conveniently located on the champs elysee]- le notre [ditto]- pierre herme [this is beneficial to him as well!]- fauchon [hello! gourmet capital of the world has THE gourmet store with so many fabulous pastries!]- sadaharu aoki [there's a counter conveniently located at galaries lafayette where he can pop in while he's AHEM! looking for things for me.teehee.] [printemps is nice too! hint!]- maison du chocolat [like, helloo! you must get all such things you can't get here there! plus he made me miss the outlet in london.so he has to be nice and get me something.mwahaha.]- a gourmet store [not sure where] to find christine ferber jams which are supposed to be really really yummy.so i must try it.=D *beams* and plus.the family benefits! what could be bad about that?- he can get tea for my mom at mariage freres since she silly-ly forgot all about teas when we went to fortnum & mason.and really.isn't that where you should get your tea? sigh.- and urhm.i'll think of more next time.haha.=Phediard is unnecessary since they now have a store here.and my dad is now regretting not going to paris last year.HAH! what did i tell them?! what! RAWR! no one ever listens to me.i swear.it's as if my words fly right past them.growl.i love parisian food halls.do you know how many fabulous things you can find?! and how many fabulous things i want?! sigh.it's very upsetting when one realises how poor one is.particularly since all i bought was a bar of valrhona at galaries lafayette because the family was fed up with me and wandering through food halls.the sadness!!! it's as if wandering through cemetaries is more fun and educational.-.-" my brother still wants to visit pere lachaise.which isn't a bad idea i suppose.i don't mind going too.but really.i think food halls are far more interesting.i had such glorious minutes walking through fauchon, fortnum & mason, harrod's, selfridge's, printemps and galaries lafayette gourmet.minutes not hours because the family gets very fed up with me.they are like, you've seen this before!!! but no no.it's different.plus, one must try to learn new things everytime one goes to food halls.=) that's why foreign supermarkets are so utterly fascinating! *beams* unfortunately, it's merely a practical visit for everyone else.sigh.my dad thinks i should be a food writer since i have self declared that the only things i seem to remember are food things.but really.it doesn't take much effort to remember stuff.in fact.it doesn't take any effort at all.have yet to learn up the various kinds of lettuce though.so i can't quite identify all the leaves in a bowl of mesclun.except like, arugula [or rocket], spinach and frisee.the most famous leaves.everything else is merely there for me to ponder over.and wonder sadly why i don't know who they are.are they that forgotten? are they that unloved? i must learn the names quickly so i don't neglect them.alright.i've typed more than i should have.especially about food.haha.=Pcheers*[-witchstone-]*[music gackt!][mood dreamy][food octopus + onion gratin + chocolate cherry souffle from les amis! =D]
Friday, February 24, 2006
hello
let me show you this entirely embarassing extract from jiamin's blog.
"let me just tell you something SO FUNNY you might just die laughing. or become stupid (the theory behind this notion is that when you laugh too much, you kinda hyperventilate, and not have enough oxygen. which means that less oxygen is going to your brains, which makes you less smart, or more stupid in my case.)
so anyway, my story goes like this. one fine evening (okay, 5min ago), seeyen and i were drooling over some...er...bags. so anw. you know how the lv monogram ambre looks like right? its the plastic, see-through thing. so i was just exclaiming to seeyen how its the ideal bag for rainy days, when she was like. "the ambre is so weird.are the prints superimposed on top of each other or something?" and i had no idea what she was talking about until 5 sec after i went back to view the bag on the website. -stunned silence for like 100sec- then i told her the ugly truth.. that she was actually staring at the prints on both sides, and since its transclucent, she saw boTH sides together, and thus got the superimposed idea.
hilarious, no?
i have such hilarious and delightful friends
i cannot take it."o gee.i sound so incredibly intelligent.you know.i HONESTLY thought that it was so strange and weird that the prints looked superimposed on each other!! and just kept staring and staring and staring.argh.i am so embarassed.so anyway.as previously mentioned.we were drooling over bags.hahaha.coach! i like coach.the bags are so marvellously practical looking.so brilliant.=D and not much hardware to boot.i'm not a fan of hardware.it makes the bag look so cluttered and heavy! xP clean simple lines are best.=) the coach baby bag is so cute! =D i think i'd prefer the blue but the pink is quite pretty as well.=) and it's a good size for carrying stuff.it's so functional looking! brilliant.=D and the gallery tote is quite practical looking as well! as you can see, unique shapes don't appeal to me at all.too strange.O.o plus, they might go out of fashion really quickly.xP i have yet to actually find the bottega veneta that i like.sigh! i do like the woven leather though.it looks so soft.and usable.and .. soft.haha.=P and comfortable to carry.and i saw this hermes bag that's quite pretty looking! haha.in the new hermes ad.which i like.the hermes ribbon [the silk ribbon they sell is called a twilly by the way.so cute! haha.=P] and the balloon is so cute! =D i like their twill ribbon.it's pretty! the tied it to the handle of the bag and i felt it complemented each other rather well.=D [ahh.the work of a successful stylist..=P]speaking of hermes.i was reading this article in her world and they were talking about scarves.i love hermes scarves! they are too pretty.=D and too expensive.xP so anyway, the point i'm trying to make is that scarves are supposed to be 90cm x 90cm if not they would be considered more like handkerchiefs.ahh! i love scarves.they are rather impractical in this hot humid climate though.especially since they are silk.and their twilly designs are so pretty too!!! xD i love the water lily one.not quite sure how i would use them here though.would probably be more practical in a cooler climate! =)yawn.trying to zip a file for my brother.yawn.it's taking forever!was watching miyavi video clips just now.oh goodness!!! he's so ANIMATED and everything!! hahaha.=P and constantly moving.i realised he can't really stay still.and his attention span is like 30 seconds long.his eyes keep drifting everywhere.=P it's quite funny.and in the making of oresama, they keep zooming in on him holding the hands of the little boy!!! haha.paedophilic tendencies.=P mwahaha.shall watch the coo quack cluck pv soon.=) i just squeal with delight every time i watch beast of blood.it's not merely the song that i like, but the pv! ahh!! =D klaha actually looks rather attractive so my first impression of him has swung to a more positive angle.=D wee! plus, the video is shot in a rather dramatic way which makes it very appealing..and makes you want to watch it over and over again.=D which i have been doing anyway.haha.it's also rather dark and disturbing and gothic.xD *beams*ahh! watched the coo quack cluck video already.i was concentrating more on the song than the video however.the song is nice! =D and miyavi.oh i love his hair!!! haha.it looks good in the video too! *beams* just like in oresama.hmm.i was just thinking about how random and disconnected my typing sounds.perhaps that's because i think in such a random and disconnected way.much like blunden.who rambles on into nothingness in his stupid book.and he keeps saying that the readers WILL forgive him, predicting their reactions.-.-" sigh.i'm glad his book's torturous ways will be over soon.we're moving on to a new book.urhm.soon.when the books ever arrive.the duchess of malfi too is moving at a snail's pace according to creffield.argh! you see.i'm deviating from what i wanted to talk about AGAIN.i should really try to be more focused! xP i don't think typing in such a random manner is going to be helpful in improving my writing skills.o dear.anyway.my mom's plans to go to russia have been severly impaired by my brother's grim remarks on the situation in moscow.apparently, it's so cold there now [it is winter after all] that the government has to plead with the train stations to allow the homeless in to sleep or they'd freeze to death outside.[when i went to paris the year before, a few people froze to death in the streets.and that convinced my mom that i had wrap up to high heaven or i'd die too.-.-"] the problem is that the security and the workers in the train stations are being merciless to the poor homeless folk by beating them up and not allowing them into the train stations.the irony in this situation is furthered by how you must remember that russian train stations are some of the most lavish in the world with gorgeous decorations and everything.the poverty in moscow is rather shocking as well with crime rates being wayy up there, especially targeting tourists.apparently, russia hasn't quite cleaned itself up yet.my brother keeps telling my mom to stay in a better hotel but really.what are the chances of that if you go on a tour that isn't all that expensive? besides, staying in an expensive hotel would simply further the chances of you getting targeted since they know that you have moolah.o well.my dad was like, just go..and see what it's like.none of us have been to russia before.so my mom can be the first! haha.argh! i never meant for the entry to be so long.=X sorry.i shall return to admiring the prettified album covers of these japanese rock stars.=) and hopefully ingraining lyrics into my brain at the same time! must multitask.saves you some time.*beams*cheers*[-witchstone-]*[music le ciel malice mizer + coo quack cluck miyavi][mood cheerful][food guo tie!!! xD]
Thursday, February 23, 2006
no one is doing this!:
http://kevan.org/johari?name=witchstoneshould i be upset? should i be worried? that maybe..maybe..no one reads this blog!!! haha.not that many people know about it anyway.=P
ahaha.i can't stop laughing at gackt.even though i've seen the videos many times.hahaha.=P
helloo*beams* i'm more in love with le ciel than ever!!! haha.okay anyway.played a spot of tennis today in pe and apart from that..nothing really interesting happened.unless you count rajaratnam's death as interesting.i suppose it's mildly important in my radar but not important enough to override everything else.i mean, sure.he wrote the pledge [that AHEM some people can't even totally remember] and did loads for our darling country but really.urhh.i can't say that his death has much impact on me.my dad went to the wake today though.O.o and my brother is planning to go tomorrow.gosh.so anyway! i'm plotting now how to get my paws on moonchild which [as jiamin has admonished me about] has shown about 500 times already.my brother is being completely unhelpful and irritating by being all, if you message me i might help you...growl! and to think i'm quite willing to help him.xP silly cow.i'd better get my hands on all this stuff in the VERY near future though.since it's better to be distracted a little now than to be distracted when the prelims and a levels draw nearer....xPsigh.still on a hunt for a tote that could possibly be within my brother's budget! of like, a pathetic amount of money.if i want 2 bags.haha.=P but in any case, i haven't even found i bag i like or want so...yes.got to search.and search.and look.and find.and stare.and hope if i find one that doesn't sell out before i buy it.xP o dearie me! how am i ever going to find a nice bag! xPahh.just reviewed my brother's glay cd.i know!!! who could have imagined that my brother was a once-upon-a-time jrock fan?! so anyway.i dug out his glay cd, which was VERY dusty i might add, in experimentation.you know.got to expose oneself to more than malice mizer.and dir en grey.so having already done that, i've ahem.moved on to glay.that my friend describes as a "talent band".which is a good thing because they are actually all quite ugly.haha.=P well okay.not UGLY per se.but not good looking.quite upsetting really.i mean having the best of both worlds always pleases consumers!!! =D and i thought they were visual but they aren't really.i mean, it's just eyeliner at most which isn't a big deal anymore.sigh! i tell you.it's the death of visual kei.quite sad.xPbeen watching the japanese/korean mtv hour these days, fighting with my dad over the tv because neither of us dare to interrupt my mother's precious korean dramas.=P and of all the bad luck, the one day i don't watch it and xiaoan does, she gets l'arc en ciel, glay AND namie amuro!!! and what do i always get?? i get the cutesy sugary pop singers like wat [yes.the duo actually named themselves wat.how spastic can one get?].and i get BoA.lots and lots of BoA.every single bloody day!!! my goodness.i mean, i think she's pretty and i think the song is quite nice in a sweet typically ballad pop kinda way but really.can they even pretend that jrock exists?? sigh.SIGH.oh my goodness!! all those times i've been giving into my dad letting him watch his stupid programmes and i could have watched a potential showing of a jrock video?! AHH!!! how can my dad do this to me!! he thinks mtv is utterly useless.and merely tolerates it.sigh! i must watch it tomorrow.assuming i can finish mr & mrs smith before then.or tear myself from the beast of blood video which is endlessly fascinating.=D"I Need Not Go"I need not goThrough sleet and snow To where I knowShe waits for me;She will wait me thereTill I find it fair,And have time to spare From company. When I've overgot The world somewhat, When things cost not Such stress and strain, Is soon enough By cypress sough To tell my LoveI am come again.And if some day, When none cries nay,I still delay To seek her side, (Though ample measure Of fitting leisure Await my pleasure) She will riot chide. What--not upbraid me That I delayed me, Nor ask what stayed me So long? Ah, no! - New cares may claim me, New loves inflame me, She will not blame me, But suffer it so.Thomas Hardyrather cute poem no? =Dsongs to try and find:HIM - lose you tonight--> heard it on some klaha fan vidmiyavi - coo quack cluck--> because it's a nice song and zhilei wants it.O.omore malice mizer! haha.and gakuto san! and urhm.other nice songs.haha.so ambivalent! =P extracting songs from xiaoan now.teehee! ;) she's like a warehouse of songs man.brilliant!!! and plus she knows a lot about jrock having once been a giant fan.=) knowledge database!!! haha.this is great! yay.alright alright.it's very late.and i haven't done a thing besides talk to xiaoan, get mp3s and get hooked on youtube.AGAIN! o dear o dear.i better get reading.before i go watch more videos.haha.=Pcheers*[-witchstone-]*[music beast of blood + le ciel malice mizer][mood tired][food kitkat noir]ps: thanks again xiaoan!!! xD
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
hellooHappy Birthday Dad! =Dwell.fun-o-rama is officially over and it's back to work for all of us.today went to creative at jurong to buy the travel adaptor charger for my precious neeon.omigosh!!! the damned charger cost a whopping $69!!! and i could have added like, $20 more and gotten a malice mizer cd.but no no.it is a necessary expense.especially useful for travelling [it IS a travel adaptor charger after all..] since it comes with 6 changeable plug heads!!! =D i can plug in anywhere to charge!! okay.at least in most of "Asia, Europe and USA".which isn't very helpful.i mean, does that mean i can't charge in say...africa? not that i'm going to africa anytime soon.but it's theoretical.so anyway.i spent $69 *heart bleeds* on the charger and hopefully i will get much use out of it or i could just kill myself!!! $20 more to a malice mizer cd!!! >_<ahem.the creative store was nice though.really big and ahem.spacious.[which might indicate a lack of range but that wasn't the case at all] they had many many many ports to let you try their products so we were happily watching trailers while waiting for jiamin's vision to get serviced! =D the quality is FANTASTIC i tell you on the vision!! *squeals* they had the final fantasy VII: advent children trailer which is beyond cool!! *squeals* i so want to watch it!!! but i don't know how to get it.sigh.*nudges people in the know* i mean.is it like, a dvd release? or is it like, part of the game? or is it like..i don't know.some weird thing you can only find through some weird sources??? O.o i'm not very informative i know.but since i don't know anything, i can't possibly be informative.looking at how pretty the final fantasty characters are, and how realistic they look, i might want to go look for the other movies they have.i'm not quite ready to play the game.it's supposedly very hard.and you know how addictive computer games can be.not a good thing during a level year.maybe..next year or something.ahaha.=Pwhere was i? o yea.the creative store.it's huge! gotta walk a really long way to the accessories section where the chargers were sold.i don't understand why it doesn't come with a non-computer usb port charger in the box.like, why is it sold separately? it doesn't make any sense at all.but i love this charger!!! it's brilliant.it fully charged my darling neeon in less than 2 hours and it didn't even make it steaming hot!!! which is what happens when i charge it usually on the computer.firstly, it takes FOREVER and secondly, the poor player turns into this red hot [literally!!! my player's red.mwahaha] thing! it's terrible indeed for the fate of the poor neeon.how do they expect it to survive on that!!! sigh.and the best thing about charging with an external plug? you can listen as you charge!! can't do that on the computer charging cuz apparently it'll affect the connection or the sound or some such thing.whatever.the speakers and headphones are creative were rather impressive in terms of sound quality!!! i'm starting to ahem, read articles i see about laptops to prepare to get one for university next year!!! then i'll have to stock up on accessories since my dad will probably be all huffy about having to get a laptop already imbued with fabulous accessories.like good speakers for one thing.laptop speakers SUCK.oh my goodness.the sound quality is terrible!!! okay.my speakers now aren't much better but that's because they were like, free.and like, not very high quality.gotta get a nice big screen though for the laptop since that's not accessorisable.even hard disk space isn't THAT important since you can simply add on an external hard disk drive for some extra moolah.but inbuilt cd/dvd drive is so important! movie watching darling movie watching! especially in university where you don't exactly have the luxury of a tv and dvd player no more..so you've gotta rely on that trusty laptop of yours! =) unless you live at home of course.or if you're rich enough to be able to equip your dorm room with all that entertainment equipment! =D your room mate will love you i tell you.haha.how confusing the world of technology is.and how fast it's advancements.then you still have to think about software!!! like my adobe photoshop.i will not rest till i get it and figure out how exactly to use it properly.haha.=P which reminds me.should i get a mac or a pc [laptop]!!! wails.i think apple is so pretty! but my dad's like, why can't you just get a regular laptop?! sigh.went looking for moonchild after lunch.gee! so much for "everywhere" having it.xP after hearing so much about it and getting admonished for having missed "500" reruns of the movie, i just have to watch it.plus you get to see gackt ACTING.hahaha.maybe his facial muscles will actually move for once.=P and then gackt and hyde together? AHH! so cute.=D i think they look so cute together!!! hahaha.i have much vocabulary right.=P okay.i must watch moonchild.despite being assured that on one hand the story is stupid and on the other hand, that it's nice.ahh.how nice it is to have differing opinions!been generally doing nothing much in the realm of homework.mostly reading my head off for the gp package on horrendously terrible scientific topics.at least it doesn't get into technicalities.that would send me to sleep straight away.so far it's been quite interesting as the issue of religion versus science is dealth with and also the issue of ethics in science.the next article is about genetic engineering as far as i can tell.it's also about the benefits of science i think.or something like that.haha.=P gotta read the UN book after this.i've started on it and as far as i can see it's just dragging on into nothingness.which isn't very helpful, especially if you're sleepy.>_<>
right.shall be off.long long day tomorrow! hope my dad had an AHEM enjoyable birthday! haha.=)
cheers
*[-witchstone-]*
[music Gekka no Yaso Kyoku malice mizer -> it's terribly catchy!]
[mood sleepy]
[food duck soup]
Monday, February 20, 2006
helloo
we got a day off today!!! =D how marvellously exciting! haha.it was due to our wonderful collection at fun-o-rama on saturday.almost $600 000!!! xD wee! so exciting.
and we all got a teddy each due to the $6000 + $4000 that mr ngoei submitted.wee!!! i now have 2 blue teddies and 1 red teddy.jiamin has like, six.haha.=P so CUTE! hahaha.vivienne had to get 2 other people to go and collect the bears with her.hilarious!!! mr ngoei read out all our names in like, one and a half breaths.hahaha.=P after that we went to collect our coupon tins and brought them back to class before beginning the massive coupon counting exercise.my gosh.it was terrible! there were so many bloody coupons.O.o good grief.was busily counting for about an hour i think before we had our final numbers.*beams*
vivienne says that we're top earning games stall!!! YAY.haha.=D not for food stall sadly after putting so much effort into the food.but i am nonetheless pleased.=D
went to town after that.bought tickets to casanova and then went to kobayashi with zhilei to eat.oh my goodness!!! i ate so very much.it's terrible!!! i'll have to go on SUCH a diet after this.went to buy shihlin taiwan street food xxl chicken after that.it's so good!! but it's so terribly fattening.and like..spicy.>_< [okay.it might just be me since i'm like, pathetic when it comes to eating vast amounts of chilli.] went to kino after that..=D bought the new donna hay magazine!!! HAHA.=D zhilei was looking longingly at this magazine that had miyavi in it.mwahaha.oh to be so in love with a rock star! haha.i agree that he's good in the looks department though.;) can't quite say the same about his music.except maybe a couple of songs.not like gackt! who has so many nice songs.WEE! haha.=P
A Cloud withdrew from the Sky
895
A Cloud withdrew from the Sky
Superior Glory be
But that Cloud and its Auxiliaries
Are forever lost to me
Had I but further scanned
Had I secured the Glow
In an Hermetic Memory
It had availed me now.
Never to pass the Angel
With a glance and a Bow
Till I am firm in Heaven
Is my intention now.
Emily Dickinson
went back to lido after that to catch casanova.gosh! it's a rather good show you know!! though i felt that the storyline and everything was more geared towards a female audience.because well now! heath ledger is good looking indeed!!! far better than in brokeback mountain i must say.and sienna miller is quite hot! haha.
the storyline was enjoyable to say the very least and i didn't feel that the acting was at all contrived.rather, it was quite fitting for the flamboyant venetians.the movie is basically about this guy called casanova [played by heath ledger] and he's famous for sleeping with many many women.however, the catholic church is QUITE against this and wishes to capture him so the doge [the leader in venice] advises him to settle down quickly with a respectable wife.and thus casanova starts his search for a wife and ends up choosing a pretty, virginal young lady by the name of victoria.but gasp! a plucky, witty and intelligent girl called francesca [played by sienna miller] catches his eye! however, she is engaged to another rich man and casanova (who owes many a penny) thus tries to win her heart through various hilarious and rather romantic scenes.it was an altogether enjoyable film filled with adventure, romance and lots of laughs.they have blatant sexual innuendos and hilarious lines.=)
and as joyce put it, at least it didn't have a cheesy ending!!! haha.they gave it a nice plot twist right at the end which was a pleasant surprise.=D haven't seen such an enjoyable movie in quite some time! i'm rather enjoying this thought especially when i think that we won't get a chance to see a movie in another long while what with school and exams and everything.fun-o-rama was a nice interlude but the teachers are going to be relentless from now on...
after the movie zhilei and i went to kino again to check out her magazine.haha.there were like, 2 pages of miyavi.i mean, GASP.that's SO MUCH.-.-" so yes.she decided to save $20.yay! =D haha.then it was the journey home where i missed not 1 but 2 74 buses!!! then i overslept my stop so i had to take another bus and walk home.RAWR! after which i spent time reading gourmet instead of watching japanese mtv!!! ARGH.lost track of time completely.i tell you.food articles are too compelling!!!
o well.hope to get more hardworking as the year goes along.thank goodness i've practically exhausted the number of videos i can watch online if not i'd still be watching later in the year.and that would be terrible.because unlike some people i know, i'm not very clever and thus need much time to study.and study.and study.in order to merely pass.i mean really.the benefits are SO substantial.
cheers
*[-witchstone-]*
[music le ciel malice mizer]
[mood tired]
[food no nut chocolate chip cookies from famous amos! =D]
REUTERS 16 Feb 2006
Sleeping on Big Decisions
Big decision time? Best to sleep on it. Unconscious deliberation may lead to a more satisfying choice, study finds.
When faced with a major decision, such as buying a car or a house, it's best to do your homework, and then forget about it for a while and let your unconscious churn through the options.
According to the results of a novel study published today in the journal Science , unconscious deliberation may lead to a more satisfying choice than mere conscious deliberation alone, at least for major decisions.
Conscious deliberation is fine for the less important, more mundane everyday choices like deciding which shampoo or towels to buy, but not for bigger decisions, the report indicates.
Four investigators in the department of psychology at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, confirmed the value of what they call the "deliberation-without-attention" hypothesis in a series of studies on consumer choice ¡X both in the lab setting, as well as in real life among shoppers in department stores.
For example, in a car-shopping experiment, participants read a complex series of facts about cars they were considering purchasing. Immediately afterwards, they were given puzzles to keep their conscious selves busy.
After working on the puzzles, this group of purchasers reported greater satisfaction with their car choice than did subjects who were given no puzzles and had to decide what car to purchase immediately after consciously pondering the facts.
But for making simple decisions, such choosing between different sets of towels, conscious deliberations were all that was needed to make satisfying choices.
There are several possible reasons why conscious thought sometimes leads to poor judgment, the researchers say. Consciousness has a "low capacity" causing individuals to consider only a subset of relevant information and they may inappropriately weight the importance or relevance of this information.
In contrast, the human subconscious has a higher capacity to integrate more information, which can lead to better choices.
First author Dr. Ap Dijksterhuis told Reuters Health: "The take-home message is that when you have to make a decision, the first step should be to get all the information necessary for the decision. Once you have the information, you have to decide, and this is best done with conscious thought for simple decisions, but left to unconscious thought ¡X to 'sleep on it' ¡X when the decision is complex."
The novel finding from these studies is the "idea that we can think unconsciously and that unconscious thought is actually superior to conscious thought for complex decisions," the researcher added.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11392879/
Sunday, February 19, 2006
hello
it's been a long week of fun-o-rama preparations.but o boy.it was so worth it! it was so much fun in the end.=D haha.and i will thus start off with a day by day account that i've tried to remember but..can't always guarantee.=P
Fun-O-Rama VXIII
Preparation (Thursday)
whew! today was a day without lessons apart from like, you know.econs since that guy is seriously delusional when he expects people to be paying attention.i mean, i can understand that they want us to focus on schoolwork and all but still, it's a bit ridiculous to expect the students to not be fidgety and unfocused when there's something else on.i mean, seriously.all the other teachers didn't bother.=P
instead, we spent a lot of time putting up the giant banners that the class created, especially the huge 4 panels for the haunted house.i tell you!! they are utterly gorgeous!!! xD if people didn't notice them, they are blind.too bad i have no pictures of them but..my friend does! haha.=P so anyway, it was really tough putting up the banners because we were hanging out on the really really exposed rooftop and i got all sunburnt.xP and the banners are super heavy because each panel is 8m X 1m and that's hell of a lot of cloth i tell you.plus, all that raffia one has to use to secure the panels!!! goodness.and aligning them and making sure they are straight and everything? whew.after putting up all those banners, jiamin and i went to holland v with joyce to get ingredients for the funorama food stall.=D joyce got us ingredients that were left over from her church baking and jiamin and i went to phoon huat.
ate lunch at subway.=D i cannot believe that while the turkey breast sandwich has fewer calories than chicken teriyaki, it has more fat and sodium!!!! like, how is this possible!!!! AHH!! i am terribly upset.must find a sandwich that isn't high in calories, fat, or sodium.>_<>
went to help set up haunted house after that till some unearthly hour in school [10+pm] because we were putting up the tunnels for the staircases.it was very cool actually because they bought this black clingwrap thing from mustafa [which has everything!] and we wrapped it over the poles that we'd tied to LT chairs and taped it like crazy.the front of the room was also set up with all the red cloth along with the seats.also tested the darkness of the room, eventually having to remove all the lights that stayed on like the exit signs and stuff.i never knew the LT could be so very dark.it was pitch black i tell you.rather creepy because it's so dark that you can't even sense a person standing close to you.freakyness!!
got a lift home from parents and was horrified to realise that the next day, we had to bake and chop apples.O.o
Baking & More Preparation (Friday)
didn't go to school since i was planning to go to the supermarket early in the morning.[okay.so it wasn't that early but it isn't my fault the supermarket doesn't open so early right?! xP] made my way there first to meet jiamin and get stuff from her before she went off to make the puffs.at the supermarket, i was inundated with about oh..just 3 millions changes, adjustments and had to keep redoing calculations and contacting joyce to buy stuff from phoon huat and calling here and there....when it came to calculations, zhilei proved how utterly crap my math is..once again.O.o i tell you.i can't even calculate how much flour is needed!!! i am terrible.TERRIBLE I TELL YOU! a very very sad fact actually.sigh.so was buying serviettes, disposable cutlery, flour, sugar, apples, bananas, whipped cream, butter, toppings, etc. etc. then bought a black board from popular for pricings! cabbed down to my house and started setting up when wendy and joyce arrived.
ordered mcdonald's for lunch [funorama was disgustingly healthy for me if not for all the work involved] and started peeling and chopping apples like factory workers.thus, the factory cycle went like this: peeling/chopping apples, marinating apples, dividing apples into the tins and making the topping for apple crumble before baking the damn things.
due to the increased number of apple crumbles we were forced to make, we had much juice left and i decided to boil it down into a sort of syrup/jam.and the whole house was filled with the smell of cinnamon!!! xD yummy.and with 4 people working on the apple crumbles, we managed to finish by 7+ when we ate dinner.it was terribly hard work to peel and chop apples and till now, my fingers ache from gripping the knife [and the comb for haunted house that i'll mention later].and my fingernails are still stained by the damned cinnamon in the topping.xP URGH.
went to school after we were done [and after dinner.sweet and sour pork!!!] to continue helping with haunted house.did dry runs and got familiarised with our roles.the LT was all set up with red and black for our haunted house and it was too cool!!! hahaha.=D was thinking of how to set up the food stall as well after visiting it.=)
the black room i was located in as the "hair-comber" was so cool! it was covered completely with black trash bags with a bar set up to separate the audience from us.and in my section was a table with loads of chinese stuff that made it look like a dressing room complete with mirror and lamp.below the table would be someone else who would grab legs and scare the hell out of people.
was scared to death walking through the place because it was so dark and what you see freaks you out completely.when you walk in, you see this glowing red mask which is very creepy.then you proceed up the stairs that are in "tunnels" that were created by the black clingwrap and into the black room where you see this creepy person with face covered with hair sadako style and then this crawling thing.after that, you see in the MR room a girl rocking and stabbing a voodoo doll and then the glass is slammed against.and because you get such a shock, you freak out completely.after that, you encounter a sort of mutilated mannequin and a little figure with a mannequin arm sticking out at a funny angle and someone who acts like a jack in a box that freaks you out.haha.=P after that, you have to bend down and go through this tunnel that was made from cardboard boxes and you encounter all these mannequins where there would be a real person amongst them.afterwhich you go down the stairs through the black clingwrap tunnel again before more jack in the box characters shock you into screaming.and that's the end.quite impressive no! haha.=P
only finished at around 11pm.was so tired i wanted to die.almost crashed into cars thanks to brother's disgustingly horrible driving skills.how he managed to pass is beyond me.went home, took a bath and blew dry hair to try to keep it straight so i could be sadako like and promptly fell asleep...
Fun-O-Rama Day (Saturday)
was rudely awakened by stupid alarm and felt like i had just fallen asleep.dragged self to wash up and try to straighten hair further by not tying it.ankle throbbed from falling the day before [did i mention it? no? well, i tripped over kat and fell on the staircase promptly breaking my slipper and hurting my ankle all at the same time].sleepily went downstairs with all the nonsense i needed to bring and packed the stuff into my dad's car and joyce's car.
upon reaching the concourse at school, unloaded the stuff into the hub and started setting up the food stall by laying things out and all that.toppings, crumbles and puffs were systematically put out for easy access.layed out the things properly and started decorating the stall.had forgotten the whipped cream and apple jam and apologised profusely to dad who had to bring it for me.=X oops.zhilei created the price sign and we tacked it up on the board behind our stall after moving more tables into the hub.
had to proceed upstairs for another dry run for the haunted house so we left joyce to settle the stuff as she was stationed permanently at the food stall after much insistence on our part.=P got into costume and makeup after that.zhilei did my eyeliner which was quite cool except that it was overly dramatic [duh.it's a HAUNTED HOUSE] and my nails which were black since they could be seen when i was combing my hair.i put on the white powder and horrendously red lipstick myself.quite terrible.in fact, very very very terrible.and i was incredibly scary with the makeup on and the hair covering my face.the white was so unnatural!! and so disgusting to boot.it's those old-school white makeup that they used to use in china.and the red lipstick? ew.it made my lips look swollen and overly large.then added some drama to it by creating like, dripping blood.urgh!!! xP disgusting i tell you.was so horrified to see myself.[brenda described it as the new definition of ugly.like, urhm.thanks.] then jiamin and joel were putting random bits of gel in my hair to make it messier and that's when i really looked very scary.imagine: a mass of hair covering the face but then there's this white cheeks and white chin with a sudden red splotch called the lips.and this pink monstrosity that's supposed to be a wayang costume.EW.if it wasn't scary, at least it was a fashion disaster.
1st shift (9.30 - 11.30am)
bev and i were paired up and it was quite disastrous.because people were making stupid comments like, there's something!, hello who are you??? i was like, -.-" IDIOTS. and we couldn't quite scare them because the lamp wasn't quite bright enough.and we weren't quite used to our roles at first so it was quite a rough beginning.the pitch darkness was scaring me too.and plus the pipa music? it made it less scary but it was creepy.and the mirror next to me was avoided at all cost.i was creeping myself out just glancing at it!!! >_<
2nd shift (11.30am - 2pm)
was assigned to ticketing so i stood in costume and makeup trying to get people to go up to lt6 for our haunted house.i was scaring everyone with my makeup o the fun!!! hahaha.=P after that i decided that the food stall needed more people than ticketing so i went to help.o my goodness!! it was so fun scooping icecream.ahaha.=P and serving the food and stuff.wee!!! =D was busily stuffing coupons into the tin as they started to pile up just as i had done at the haunted house where a long queue was forming.soon after zhilei and i went to do our makeup.o my gosh.when i reapplied the white powder i seriously looked like some horrendous ghost or something.>_<>
3rd shift (2pm - 4+pm)
bev and i came up with a new strategy for haunted house since the 1st shift was so completely unsuccessful.=P firstly, the guides would shine at me combing my hair then staring at them with the horrendous makeup because it was easier for them to gauge when the whole group was in the room.then the guides would start ushering them out of the room when i would suddenly scream my head off and bev would grab their legs.this my friends was SUPER EFFECTIVE!!!!! mwahaha.ok.so it didn't work when mr ngoei acted as tour guide because he didn't know the new procedures and they left with oh, that was good stuff.-.-"
the greatest achievement? scaring many many many many many guys!!!! hahaha.and the girls too.especially that group of giant rugby guys.hilarious!!!
what happened
- some poked me. IDIOTS i say IDIOTS!
- some asked stupid questions like: hi who are you?? are we supposed to interview you? what are you doing there? can i have your number? [many of those.-.-"] are you combing your hair because it's so messy??
- others made stupid comments like: omg there's SOMETHING THERE.there's a woman!!! ehh she's quite hot!!! [-.-"] why's she sitting there!! SO POOR THING. [idiot.i WONDER WHY.-.-"] she's sitting here the whole day ah my god damn sad! [thanks.]
- many many many stepped on poor bev.
but it was really fun.because if they weren't freaked out by my makeup and stuff, they were certainly VERY freaked out when i screamed.once i screamed, all of them started screaming and even more because bev would start grabbing at their legs and all that.ahahhaa.it was hilarious seeing this bunch of huge rugby guys clinging to each other and yelling "FUCK OFF BITCH!!!" at me.ok.so the yelling part wasn't funny.but watching them was.a lot of the time i would have to keep from laughing.ahahaha.=P i felt sorry for bev and the guides though having to hear me scream so many times in a row in a small room.and ahem.my throat was dying this morning >_<>
while it was super fun to scare people and all, it was really tiring, plus the room was really hot and i had to sit in an extremely uncomfortable position that made my legs go numb.urgh.
4th shift (4+pm - 6pm)
it was raining like hell when i got out with zhilei.ahh!! and i attracted more stares due to costume and makeup with lots of pointing and whispering.i just ignored everyone from then on.xP so while zhilei was talking to her friends i went to look for calissa and brenda whom i scared half to death!!! haha.they were in a group see and i just walked up and went hi.and brenda was like OMG!!!! ahaha.=P and then she said: now i know the new definition of ugly.like, THANKS.i returned to the food stall and we spent the rest of the time slashing prices and trying to sell food off.and then we were getting food at any opportunity we had.=D yay! haha.and there was this horrible woman who was buying icecream puffs from us just as we were closing so we didn't mind selling them cheaper but she was so bossy and demanding!! first it was, oh! you have such large puffs why give me such small ones? yar! just use the big ones!!! then it was, so little ice cream? give me more!! you can just scrape the bottom of the container! more lah.come on! OMG.i felt like killing her.she didn't HAVE to buy you know.idiot..-.-" and more people were buying food from us though at reduced prices because it was the end of the day and the rest of the stalls had mostly sold out.=D lucky we still had more food! hehe.
Clean up (6pm - 9+pm)
o gosh.i hate cleaning up.it's even harder than setting up.sigh!!! xP had to wash all the ice cream things which were so oily and had to clean up.arhhh.terrible.and no one in the haunted house could help us because people were still lining up and they had to continue doing it.there was so much spillage on our side due to the other stalls.hrmph!! xP then we had to clean the tables and everything and continue stuffing the coupons into the tin because people just came to donate to us.=D hehe.after that vivienne and i went on to help with the haunted house clean up since zhilei, joyce and jiamin had to go.we had to take down the banners, throw things away, bring things back to the NL, clean up, etc. etc. it was so tiring.and i had to keep climbing up and down the stairs and walking everywhere.if that wasn't a workout, i don't know what is.xP
during the 4th shift when i'd removed my costume and the makeup had started coming off.
Debriefing (9+pm)
ate Kenny Rogers that wendy bought [bless her!] and the class finished the remaining apple crumbles since no one had eaten all day.mr ngoei thanked the alumni and the haunted house people for their hard work and told us to get some rest.he also mentioned that because of some guy donating $6000 on friday along with $4000 that we collected, he submitted $400 in everyone's name so we all get an ac teddy each!! hahaha.=D yay! =P then after that vivienne and i waited for my parents to pick us up and then..it was home.
all in all? it was so fun scaring people and it was so fun working at the food stall.so while it was a really tiring experience that was filled with so much stress, it was so fun and thus, practically worth it.=D i wouldn't want to set everything up again but i wouldn't mind doing the roles again.=D haha.
on monday we'll be returning to school to count coupons and then hopefully, we'll get top earning class for our efforts.=D but even if we don't, i think we had a lot of fun.and it was great.yippee!
i'm really tired.i'm aching.i have a headache.so, i'll go sleep.but not after i finish watching catch me if you can!! haha.=P
cheers
*[-witchstone-]*
[music gackt!]
[mood cheerful]
[food potatoes and fried food..] ps: i'll be updating this periodically with photos so do look out for them.haha.=P when i do receive the photos of course.HINT!!!
