Within Temptation, "Forgiven"

A Brief Return To This Blog

Dear Friends,

Hi, I'm back after an absence of several months. Where have I been? I'm still online -- but I have been almost exclusively on Facebook. It's a long story -- mainly I have been too involved in a Mafia War clan, which has taken up too much of my time.

Some of you have expressed concerns over my absence from the blogsphere. Thank you for the concern. I will be back soon, I promise. I guess the truth is, I found it difficult to blog these past year. The time spent in Dubai has not been healthy for me. I find that I am only able to write comfortably if I can find an emotional anchor. These past year have been a series of emotional upheaval. I couldn't centre myself sufficiently to stay coherent in my own thoughts anymore. I couldn't even find the peace of mind to read anymore. Which is an irony, since I work in a bookstore. I have stopped being a vegetarian. I have stopped my yoga practice. My life as I have known it, has stopped.

So I played Mafia Wars instead.

I guess this is just a note to my friends to say, "Hi, I ain't dead." But most importantly, I am happy to announce that my HR Department has confirmed the last day of my one-year term in Dubai will end on 31st August 2009. This means 10 days from today, I will no longer be bonded to the Dubai store. My ticket for home is for 14th September.

There is a slight anxiety at the back of my mind about coming home without a job. My colleagues have been trying to persuade me to stay in Dubai for a 2nd year. I considered it very briefly -- I have given HR the figure I need to extend my contract. They have reverted on what they are will to pay -- which is less than half of what I asked for.

I said no. I could have told them not to insult me. After one year here, I know what I am worth. They can take their offer and stuff it up their arse.

I have given one year of my youth here. After this one year I have decided life is too short. This is not the place for me. Time to move on.

My Department Manager asked me what are my plans. I have none. I will have to watch my spending. I may travel -- maybe to the Philippines. I have a friend living there that I met online. It would be interesting to actually meet her in person.

But we shall see. So many things are uncertain right now. I will worry about them later.

~ darkorpheus

Spoof Video of Total Eclipse of the Heart

The MTV for "Total Eclipse of the Heart" was ridiculous, with their bad hair-do and strangely garbed dancers (ninja dancers who twirl). It took more than a decade for someone to make a spoof video of just how ridiculous it is though.

If you want a good laugh, you seriously need to watch this video. Trust me. I watched several times and I still laughed every time.

Total Eclipse spoof
Uploaded by chinesedaughter.

Forget the Em-Dash, Go Semi-Colon

Lionel Shriver, author of We Need to Talk About Kevin, writing about the beauty of the semi-colon.

Besides, the semicolon is supple as well. It may imply relatedness; it may imply contrast. With perfect clarity, it nimbly separates elements of a list that themselves contain elements of a list. For example, "These days, the semicolon exudes an aura of the fusty, the fastidious, and the defunct; of mildewed stacks, tight hair buns, and prissily sharpened pencils; of hesitancy, diffidence, and uncertainty, in contrast to the em-dash, which exudes a spirit of strength, flair, and decisiveness."

Full essay

Some films adapted from books feel so right - that is, until you watch it and you realise how the director got it all wrong; It was totally different from how you imagined it when you read the book.

I'm still hopeful that one day I will be able to finish reading all of Colette's books (and she wrote so much, some of which have gone out of print in their English translations). I also happen to be a big fan of Michelle Pfeiffer. Which was why my initial reaction to the news of Cheri - the film adapted from Colette's Cheri - was delight. Then I saw the trailer, and I was a little hesitant.

Why? Because it felt too light-hearted - almost as though it was a romantic comedy. For Colette, her body was her temple - but she was uncannily self-aware of the nuances and contradictions of human emotions. Colette's books are lush masterpieces where you walk through the labyrinth of the human heart. They are complicated, layered narratives. This trailer, in spite of the sheer beauty and perfect bone-structure of Michelle Pfeiffer herself - makes me suspicious of the worthiness of the adaptation.

Still, I want to see Michelle Pfeiffer - who is now 50 years old - as a cougar of the Belle Epoque.

I Want Ice Kachang

I'm giddy with excitement right now, the reason being: I've just confirmed the flight for my home visit. This means, if everything goes well, I will be back home in Singapore from 25th July - 15th August. I will be spending the Singapore National Day on my native soil. I feel very patriotic right now. :)

Need to make a list of things to eat when I'm home. I have decided the first thing I want to eat when I touch down in Singapore is Ice Kachang. Ice kachang is shaved ice flavoured with syrup, mixed with sweetcorn, redbean, palm seed, grass jelly, agar-agar cubes at the bottom. I love it when they add the condensed milk liberally. It's cold and sweet - the taste I want for a homecoming.

I know it's only May right now, but I am looking forward to going home. More than the food, I miss the people that I care about back home. I miss the crazy girls at my old work-place who dedicated a cupcake to me - because we used to share cupcakes during lunch.

Can't wait.

Matt Taibbi, Reza Aslam and Naomi Klein with Bill Maher

Matt Taibbi, Reza Aslam and Naomi Klein on "Real Time with Bill Maher," May 8, 2009.

I'm Into Facebook Mafia Wars

I'm feeling a little guilty about the lack of posts these days. I want to be able to write something on a regular basis - both as a form of therapy and as a means of disciplining myself. Life of course has a way of interfering with all our plans (and our blogs, of course). Recently however, my excuse for not reading or writing more is my addiction to the Facebook game, Mafia Wars.

Mafia Wars is basically a strategy game on Facebook where you are a gangster. You build up a mob by inviting your friends to play the game. You buy properties, do jobs, fight/rob other players. It's an absolute time-suck. I started playing Mafia Wars only about two months ago, but I am so proud to have reached Level 101, earning the title of "Consigliere". (It's absolutely geeky, I know!)

It's a fact of life, that we gravitate towards those that share our interests. I have also joined a Facebook group of women Mafia Wars players. We hav "tagged" ourselves and formed an informal "girl mafia". We watch our girls' backs and we try to help each other in the game. I love the estrogen in my gang of mafia girls. Most of my Facebook Profile posts these days are about my Mafia Wars activities - and it's funny how responsive my Mafia mates are to these posts. I suddenly find myself in a strange virtual community of very generous and funny ladies, all because of a game.

I wonder about the amount of time and energy that goes into playing this game, and imagine if we channel the same amount of time and energy for something else. Can you imagine just what we can achieve?

PS: Starting today, I have set myself the goal of writing a blog post everyday. (Exccept on days when I have no access to the internet or my laptop dies on me) This probably means you will be privy to too much information on my life and other obscenities. I can't guarantee that everything will be interesting, and I promise you, a lot of it will be fly-by-cuff stream-of-consciousness. If you do choose to drop by once in a while in spite of the information overload, I thank you for your attention in advance. :)