this shit is B-A-N-A-N-A-S

last Wednesday i had a review that was both good and bad. it was good because i found that everyone else is more or less as behind in progress as i am, and no one has a proper scheme yet. it was bad because with only one more review and seven weeks to go before the final review, being behind isn't such a good thing.

on Saturday i got pretty drunk and ended up rambling about poverty levels, the value of the Ringgit vs. the British Pound, and Malaysian history (which my high school History teacher, Miss Tan, would have been very proud of). the last time i was that drunk i was lucky enough to bump into an architect and ended up talking about Tschumi and Koolhaas (which is at least, a way cooler topic than history and economics). the time before that, it was a Poli Sci student, and i can't remember our conversation in much detail except that the IRA, Truman and Hitler were mentioned. so after this weekend i thought that the only thing i can do to stay away from such dry subjects when i'm unable to control what i'm talking about is to immerse myself in popular culture and i don't know, learn Guns n' Roses lyrics and Kylie dance steps, so the next time i'm drunk i can ramble about David Hasselhoff and the different stages involved in ceramic straightening.

this afternoon i stopped for lunch at the Tea House. the place was full and because i was sitting at a table with an extra chair, a nice man who looked like Christopher Lloyd joined me for lunch. turned out his name was Gary and after he'd eaten we started talking, and somehow the conversation veered from acupuncture and Chinese herbs to Darwinism and mind tricks. he left me with advice that he said i should remember for life: 1. omega-3 oil is good for you - eat a capsule every day; and 2. build your child's f-o-u-n-d-a-t-i-o-n right and they won't grow up wrong.

walking back home, i thought about what i'd want to be if i could be anything in the world, and i decided that i'd want to be a beatnik. i'd spend my time sitting in my local cafè (not Starbucks, cos corporation: BAD) sipping hot chocolate topped with schlagobers, smoking (self-grown) "tea" and reading dog-eared copies of Kerouac with my fellow beatnik friends. we'd discuss our inner selves and the evolutionary phases of Miles Davis. i don't know what i'd live on, though. maybe i'll start growing tomatoes and brocolli.

an update

all i talk about in this journal, it seems, are my upcoming reviews, and the lack of material that i prepare for them. so, to keep with tradition, i have a tutorial on Tuesday, a big scary review on Wednesday, and i haven't done much work over the weekend. so tonight and tomorrow, i have a montage, a few models, plans and sections to do, a brief to "firm up", and photographs to compile and present.

also, this weekend it snowed and today there was at least 4" of melting snow to slip on. also, it is pretty cold. brrr.

sixty-nine questions

hey so this posting once a day thing is going pretty well, so far! for today, here is a meme that i stole from somewhere online. i'd source it, but i forgot the website... so if it's yours, many apologies, a thousand thanks, and can i steal this from you please?

1. How old do you feel?
exactly the age i am - 24.

2. Where were you on September 11th, 2001?
in the studio, working on (i think) the Museum of Culture? Sarah's mum called, then we turned on the radio to listen to the news. the reality of what had happened didn't really hit until i watched it on TV when i got home the next day.

3. What do you believe is the meaning of life?
to make the most of however long you have to live.

4. Why is the sky blue?
i think it's something about how blue has the shortest length and gets dispersed most? i don't know...

5. What is your favorite thing to cook?
salmon steaks, cos it's so easy and tastes so good!

6. You have only a dollar to your name... what do you buy?
i would use that dollar to open a bank account, then withdraw an overdraft and live off of that until i find a job. can you open a bank account with a dollar by the way?

7. What would your last meal be?
i think i would choose my most favourite meal of all... fried noodles with my mum's curry. plus, i figure, if i knew it was going to be my last meal, it would probably be because i'm being put to death, maybe against my wishes... like, maybe i was sentenced to death or something. so, i'd want the person whose job it is to clean up after my dead body to have a really hard time. and i don't think curry would be very pleasant to clean up, right? i'd have fried noodles with extra oodles of curry.

8. What is the youngest age you have memories of?
i don't know... i guess maybe 2 or 3? when i used to stand at the steps in the morning and cry as my mum and dad went off to work.

9. What is your favorite thing in the world?
my computer (connected to the internet of course!)

10. What is your most missed memory?
working in the studio.

11. Have you ever punched someone on purpose?
not punched... hit, probably. or slapped. hehe.

12. Do you know what color chartreuse is close to?
it sounds purplish, or reddish.

13. Did you like garbage pail kids?
i don't know what they are. are they kids who live by the garbage dump? maybe i would have played with them, but i guess they would be smelly so maybe my mum wouldn't like that so much. plus, they might have lice or something. then i would get it. and my mum wouldn't like that at all.

14. Why do we have daylight savings time?
to confuse people like me who can never remember to turn the clocks when they're supposed to and end up either being very late or very early for class.

15. What living person would you want to meet?
i would like to one day meet Ani DiFranco because i think she's really cool.

16. What dead person?
my dad's father, whom i never got to know because he passed away before i was born, becuase my mum claims that he's really cool.

17. Where in the world would you live if you could?
in Primary 3 i did this project where i had to design my dream house. mine was on a deserted island (a small one) with a helipad. and no one would know where it was except my family and really really close friends. and a vet, so he could come by and treat my horses and dogs.

18. Who is your favorite artist?
currently, i quite like Jack Vettriano.

19. Who has had the most influence on you (good or bad)?
i don't know... i think TV? heheh...

20. What is your favorite dessert?
currently it is toffee and banana sponge pudding with cream. yummm!

21. What age is your favorite so far in your life?
maybe 4? before my sister was born and i was the center of everyone's attention.

22. Can you make cookies from scratch?
of course i can! can't be too hard right? just mix a bunch of stuff, divide it into small globs and put it in the oven. easy-peasy.

23. Was the chicken first or the egg?
bah. i don't really care. they both taste pretty good.

24. Hershey or Nestle?
i don't know. i think Hershey's just sounds posher. but i like Cadbury chocolate. is that by Nestle? my fav is fruit & nut, and also Turkish delight. i also like Nestle Nestum. i like eating it out of the can, or in a sandwich with Nutella.

25. Night out or night in?
i like both. depends on my mood i guess. these days i like nights in because i am lazy.

27. Single forever with a great family or no family and your soulmate?
i think i would choose no family and a soulmate. my sister can have the family and i can babysit her kids once in a while, but give them back at the end of the day.

28. What is your favorite scented candle?
i like vanilla.

29. Would you ever wear a wife beater?
i haven't yet. but i probably would. they look pretty comfy. and perfect for lounging around!

30. If you could live in a store which one would it be?
one that sells food too... like Isetan. or maybe a bookstore, like Borders... the kind with the built-in Starbucks.

31. Can you eat a dozen donuts in one sitting?
i bet i could... as long as i have coffee too.

32. What is your favorite curse word?
i don't curse. it's fucking rude.

33. Your favorite regular word?
i don't know... i think it would be "i don't know"?

34. Have you ever read/tried to read the bible?
yes. but i haven't read the whole Bible, just bits and pieces of it... i keep meaning to, but haven't really got around to doing it yet. soon, soon...

35. Who do you dislike most in the world?
people who dislike other people just because they have different opinions or backgrounds or beliefs.

36. What is your ideal date?
November 13th 1981, because it was the day that i was born. joy to the world!

37. Would you rather marry a deaf or blind person?
deaf. then i could learn sign language. also, i would be able to listen to whatever music i wanted to. and i could pretend to play the piano really well, with all the emotion and everything, and really impress my husband, when actually i would just sound pretty bad. hehe. also, i could pretend to write a song for him and be all romantic but actually i would just be playing "Mary Had A Little Lamb" or "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" (with emotion)

38. What is your favorite shape?
the profile of a human head.

39. Can you eat just one chip?
no! that's why they make bagS of chipS, because you're not meant to eat just one.

40. Where is the farthest you've ever been from home?
up up in Glasgow!

41. What is your desktop background?
the same one that i've had for quite some time now... (see picture up there)

42. What song do you identify with most?
gee i don't know. but my current favourite song is "David" by Nellie McKay

43. Which movie do you wish was your life?
The Incredibles! i'd want to be Violet.

44. Has someone ever intentionally put food on you?
yes. someone once threw flour on me. hehe.

45. What color is your favorite?
my current favourite colour is i think, white. or apple green.

46. What color do you feel represents you?
i think i am white: the combination of all the colours, like Richard Meier says.

47. Do you believe in God?
yes.

48. Have you ever broken a bone?
no, but i've sprained my ankle lots of times.

49. Have you ever shut someone's fingers in a door?
yes, i once slammed my sister's fingers with a very heavy car door.

50. What is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten and hated?
liver. i hate hate hate liver. unless it is very fine paté.

51. What is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten and liked?
i don't think this is weird but everyone who sees me eat it thinks it is: i like to put fries dipped in curry in my burger.

52. What is your ideal ice cream creation?
this survey has many questions about food. i would love a vanilla ice cream, with little chunks of chocolate, and little bits of turkish delight, and little chunks of chocolate-coated peanut butter. with little bits of marshmallows too.

53. If you could marry someone from a movie or TV show (the character not actor) then who would it be?
i would want to marry Josh Lyman from The West Wing. cos i like his curly hair. and also cos he's really smart and cute. plus he's really arrogant, which is kind of hot.

54. What is your favorite thing to do?
eat, while watching a movie.

55. What is your favorite junk food?
i like Doritos. also, pancakes with ice cream.

56. What is the longest you've gone without talking to anyone?
i think i can go quite long without talking to anyone (except myself... does talking to myself count?) there was a time when i didn't leave the house for three days. that was when i was sick. but then again i did call my mum up everyday to moan at her, so i guess maybe just several hours went by without me talking to anyone.

57. What is your favorite board game?
Scrabble. and Trivial Pursuit.

58. Your favorite book?
hmm... there are many things i enjoy reading. but i guess my favourite would have to be Calvin & Hobbes comics.

59. What movie could you watch over and over again?
Grease. and Chicago.

60. Do you know how to change a tire?
yes. i've never done it before, but if i had to, i'm sure i could.

61. Have you ever eaten paste?
yes. i have eaten toothpaste. and once i ate some Play-do. and once i ate plastescine. that didn't taste as nice as Play-do.

62. What is your ideal halloween costume?
the mother from Munsters... i can't remember her name. but i love her hair, and her long dress.

63. What toy have you always wanted and never gotten?
so many!! i wanted a toy gun and i never got that. i wanted a football jersey and never got one. i wanted Micro Genius or Sega and i never got it. boohooohoooo

64. What item could you not go without during the day?
coffee.

65. Do you consider yourself a smart person?
a bit lah. just a bit. hehe

66. Do you close your eyes when you listen to music?
sure, when i'm sleeping while listening to music...

67. Do you eat the burnt chips?
yes those are my favourite cos they are crispy.

68. Is there anything you HAVE to do everyday?
i have to pee a few times a day. also i have to eat every now and then.

69. 3 wishes... go (no world peace. things that are possible):
i wish that (i) my thesis would finish itself, (ii) there could be more than 24 hours in a day, and (iii) i could function without sleep or food. wait... those are all pretty much IMpossible, right? oh well. at least i didn't say "world peace".

well because i'm not going to get my 3 wishes, and because my thesis won't finish itself, there aren't more than 24 hours in a day and i can't function without sleep or food, i'll need to get back to work pretty soon because in 14 hours i have a meeting to attend, and nothing much to show so far! hang in there folks tomorrow's Friday!

let's do this!

daily post - a post everyday. i hereby pledge, starting today, the 1st of March, to put up one post every day, even when i have nothing interesting to write about, which shouldn't be too hard to do, right?

this morning, my radio alarm clock came on at 7.15. i lay in bed and listened to the weather - high of 5°C, possible snow or maybe some rain expected today. so far i've seen no evidence of either - the clouds in the sky are the white fluffy ones, and not the gray ominous ones. my second alarm clock (the one in my cell-phone) came on at 7.30. i turned it off. then, at 8.30, my third alarm clock (the CD player) came on. i lay in bed and listened to an hour of Herbie Hancock's Empyrean Isles. which was nice. it's nice to wake up to jazz in the morning. i eventually got out of bed at 11.22am, some 4 hours after the first alarm clock rang. which is not good at all, because what good is having three alarm clocks when none of them get me out of bed? anyway, i made breakfast (or lunch): a fried egg sandwich with Bovril (yum) and a cup of coffee, and 2cm of a Mars bar. i ate all of that while watching The West Wing, the one where CJ tries to stand an egg on its end on the Vernal Equinox.

i then called Zoey to confirm that i would be working this evening. then i sat down here and began my daily ritual of e-mail checking, e-mail replying, setting up appointments for tutorials, meetings, etc., blog-reading, and now, blog-writing. Counting Crows is playing in the background; it's a song called "Daylight Fading". it's not bad.

once i hit "publish post", i will then sit at my other desk and work on my presentation posters, because my next tutorial is this Friday at noon and i'll need to have some things to show Nick. so. that is my day so far. i hope the rest of it goes well, and i hope that i won't have to serve any beer tonight so that i won't break my nails opening beer cans. i hope the rest of your day goes well too! also, today is Ash Wednesday. i don't really know what that is, but i remember that back in school, on Ash Wednesday we would go to the Catholic Cathedral, where, at the end of the mass, the priest would draw a cross on your forehead with some wet ash. i think it's also the beginning of Lent. maybe this Lent i will give up DVD-watching. except for those DVDs that i just borrowed from Blockbuster last week. because i haven't seen Citizen Kane yet and it would be such a waste not watching a DVD that i'll be paying for, right? and, when i return the DVDs this Sunday, it would only make sense to pick up more for next week, since i will be there anyway, and it would be a waste of a trip if i were to just go there to drop off this week's movies. so maybe i will give up excessive DVD-watching. i'll just watch the regular amount. maybe just one in two days.