Tuesday, 5 Feb 08
Yawn
Stolen shamelessly from Hucks’ blog, who didn’t say where he got it from.
I feel like this all the time :/ especially when there’s 8.30am lessons.
I suspect I will feel even more like this when I start teaching… :D
Monday, 4 Feb 08
Turn it off
Note to all Singaporeans.
Yes, I understand that the Nokia Music ad informs the masses that “sometimes, it’s just about the music and you; sometimes, it’s about the music, you, and everybody else around you”.
THIS IS A FILTHY LIE.
It is NEVER, may I repeat, NEVER about “the music, you, and everybody else around you”. The people around you do not need to know what particular song you have on your Walkman phone. The people around you do not need to know that your Walkman phone has excellent external speakers. The people around you do not give a flying rat’s ass about how loud your Walkman phone can play that particular song, on repeat, ad libitum, ad infinitum, ad frickin’ nauseam.
I own a Walkman phone. I do not use the speakers on this phone on any sort of public transport. I do not, in fact, use this function anywhere or at a volume where others may discern my music tastes. This is because I understand that doing this is bloody inconsiderate and pisses the hell out of fellow commuters.
I had the misfortune awhile ago to sit beside a screwed up young woman who 1) was listening to her iPod so loudly I could hear her music (Chinese bubblegum - Jocie bloody Kok), 2) was playing on her Nintendo DS with the sound on (bloody annoying chirpy electric twee music and sound effects, even though she obviously couldn’t hear the damn sounds with her earphones on) and 3) had her phone ring no less than three times (Alvin and the Chipmunks with their nasal and eardrum blister-inducing cover of ‘Bad Day’ by Fuel) without answering it because SHE OBVIOUSLY COULDN’T HEAR THE DAMN RINGTONE, COULD SHE?
She was also obviously devoid of any sort of social or spatial awareness because despite my irritated glances and clenched jaw and loud ‘tsks’ (ah, I forgot; she couldn’t hear me) she persisted in her contribution to noise pollution. I was this close, this damn close to yanking her earphone out and demanding she do something to reduce it. Fuming. FUMING!
Children and misguided adults - do the world a favor. Save the Malay music, the Chinese techno, the angry R&B raps for your PRIVATE listening pleasure. Surely we have not taken a technological step backwards - earphones were invented for a reason. The sound quality, I assure you, is also much better than listening to music via external speakers.
Put. The damn. Earphones. ON. And USE them.
Sunday, 3 Feb 08
Copycatfight
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I am told, but let me tell you - it is driving me bloody insane. I am FUMING.
Ugh.
Saturday, 2 Feb 08
Covetousness
Oh my.
I want that dress for Chinese New Year!
Throw the hair and complexion in for good measure!
Friday, 1 Feb 08
‘Sitting Down Here’ by Lene Marlin
Those of my generation will remember Norwegian teen singer Lene (pronounced Lay-nuh) Marlin. She popped up sometime when I was in secondary school, I think, and then proceeded to become a two-hit wonder - ‘Unforgivable Sinner’ and ‘Sitting Down Here’. Found the latter streaming on the web after Hannah and I spontaneously broke into this song walking to the bus stop from NIE one day :D
Sitting Down Here!
Your words cut rather deeply,
They’re just some other lies
I’m hiding from a distance,
I’ve got to pay the price
Defending all against it,
I really don’t know why
You’re obsessed with all my secrets,
You always make me cry
You seem to wanna hurt me
No matter what I do
I’m telling just a couple,
But somehow it gets to you
But I’ve learned how to get revenge
And I swear you’ll experience that some dayI’m sitting down here,
But hey you can’t see me, kinda invisible:
You don’t sense my stay
Not really hiding, not like a shadow
Just thought I would join you for one day
I’m sitting down here,
But hey you can’t see meI’m trying not to avoid you,
Just don’t wanna hear your voice
When you call me up so often,
I really don’t have a choice
You’re talking like you know me
And wanna be my friend
But that’s really too late now,
I won’t try it once again
You may think that I’m a loser,
That I don’t really care
You may think that it’s all forgotten,
But you should be aware
Cause I’ve learned to get revenge
And I swear you’ll experience that some dayI’m sitting down here,
But hey you can’t see me
Kinda invisible
You don’t sense my stay
Not really hiding, not like a shadow
But sure I wanna join you one day
Ikea table hack!
Because recently visitors to my house have commented delightedly on our quirky coffee table and because I just had to get this onto the Ikea Hacker site, I decided to take some photos and post a how-to up here.
We’ve had this table for absolutely yonks - whoever said Ikea furniture doesn’t last obviously hasn’t bought any. My family’s a great connoisseur of Ikea furniture. My bedroom alone has at least eight Ikea pieces, not including the lamps and carpets and small knick-knacks that you just can’t avoid furtively sneaking into your shopping cart when trolling the Ikea aisles. Photo frames? Check. Toiletry rack? Check. Woolly snake? Why not!
In fact I think we’ve had this Ikea table close to 20 years now. We threw out our old Ivar shelving not because it was falling apart but just because we wanted something new. Even after years and years of service, the shelving wasn’t quite cleaving to our hopes that it would sort of spontaneously destruct, giving us a perfectly valid excuse to purchase new ones, so we just went ahead and threw it out anyway. Ikea furniture for teh win!
So what happened to this coffee table was that when my sister started toddling around a little less than 15 years ago, she managed to get her hands on my mother’s meat tenderizer. A meat tenderizer, you might know, is shaped like a steel mallet with rows of unforgiving blunt spikes on either end. You normally use this to pound the living hell out of slabs of meat to, well, tenderize them. Now, if you will, imagine this instrument in the hands of a two-year-old, intent on replicating its tenderizing abilities on hapless furniture.
We ended up with a table covered in unsightly pockmarks and a spanked two-year-old.
In order to salvage the sorry furniture and add a nice, personalized touch to the coffee table, Dad decided to embark on one of his ambitious arty projects and cover the table with broken tile. I’m not sure where he got the bits of tile from, but I daresay you could probably get some from your local hardware store, or an art and craft shop, or maybe beg a few off a decorator.
What you need:
Hammer
Old towel
Differently colored ceramic tiles (pick your color scheme)
Tile adhesive
Grout
Sponge
Old Ikea wooden table
What to do:
First, you need to break up your tile. Wrap your tiles inside the old towel, colored side down, and go Whack-A-Mole on them with your hammer. How much you bash away really depends on how small you want your tile pieces to be. If you want larger pieces, try not to be too enthusiastic with your smashing. You might want to experiment with your largest and most dispensable piece of tile first to figure out how best to break up the tile. Also, you really don’t want to do this on a parquet or tiled floor. Raw cement floors are best to work on.
When you’ve got as much tile as you like, start arranging them on your table top in the order that you like. You’ll want to start with tile around the edges first, lining up the corner tiles. Try not to leave too much space between tiles, but of course it’s really up to your own preference. When you’re happy with how the tiles look on your table, you can fix them down with tile adhesive. Follow the instructions on the package!
Now the grouting! Grout is easily obtainable from hardware or DIY stores. Epoxy grout is more expensive but highly waterproof. I think Dad used cement grout for this project. You’d probably want to ask the salesperson for recommendations. Mix up your grout according to instructions and slop it on with a grout trowel, making sure you pack it in the grooves carefully. When the grout is drying you can wipe off the excess on the tiles with a damp sponge. Again, follow the instructions on your grout package, as it differs from brand to brand. Caulk if required.
Hey presto! Pretty table! That no one else will ever own!
JADEITE