Saturday, September 29, 2007

Legs you want to squeeze, G-Force and Brangelina

Yesterday while I was trying hard to concentrate reading my 2 month-old german newspapers, the postman came. He brought along a parcel from Singapore. Upon opening the parcel, I realised 2 dear girlfriends of mine have sent me mooncakes, Sin Sin garlic chilli sauce, 2 issues of 8 Days (Glenda Chong looks smashing on the cover), and for my birthday (not in another few months' time) a lip gloss and a blusher from Bobbi Brown. I was so overwhelmed with surprise and gratitude that I called one of them right away to express my thanks. No one answered. They must be getting drunk in some clubs. Afterwards I noticed on the right hand corner of the box a stamp that says $102.35!!! I flinched. Hey, that's just too much to pay for a bloody postage! The money could be used on better things like having a good dinner or out drinking and meet new guys or buy the latest cosmetics products which I know they are both hot for. On second thought, I told myself to quit being a nagging bag, accept my gifts graciously and shut the hell up. After all the gifts are meant for me to have a taste of home again.

Without further ado, I stuffed a small piece of mooncake into my mouth. Ahhhh... The lotus seed paste is moist and has a smooth and soft texture, yet it is not too oily nor overly sweet. The sweetness of the filling and the slight saltiness of the yolk complement each other so well that I devoured a whole piece within seconds. Oh... How I love mooncakes... The heck with cholesterol level! We only live once... I have to remind myself to savour these treasures slowly and not raven them in a matter of 1, 2 days.

While stuffing myself silly, I flipped through 8 Days. 8 Days is truly trash but I enjoy every page of it. Because I dig the chinese entertainment scene. Being here in Germany for almost 2 years has cut me off from those gossips of Tony Leung (is he still with Carina Lau?), Andy Lau, Cecilia Cheung, Jay Chou, David Tao etc. I don't even know what are the latest good movies/songs anymore. Yes, I can always google for the latest nuggets of news but call me old-fashioned, I prefer to read them in the magazines or tabloids. It's somehow more exciting and satisfying to hold that glossy publication in your hands and laze back on the couch and absorb each piece of news greedily like a sponge.

Besides, I miss reading in English. Initially, I would buy the imported UK Glamour for 5€. The few times I bought those issues, I also tried to push the 'it's bloody $10' thought to the back of my head. Finally the guilt caught up with me and I switch to the german version of Glamour which costs only 2€. Reading in german requires twice as much of my concentration and my time than usual. It can be such a chore at times. Still I have to admit those german lessons do pay off and I almost always get the gist of the articles.

Needless to say reading in English is like a breeze. Within minutes I discovered from 8 Days that Lin Chiling, rumoured beau of Jerry Yan, has the most beautiful pair of legs. 'They are reportedly 42 inches long and that's almost four 30cm rulers, okay!', wrote the writer. She takes care of them with bird's nest (apply bird's nest on her legs or eat the bird's nest, that she didn't clarify), using Osim uSqueez and working out on the step machine. That act-cute Fiona Xie will be starring opposite Shawn Yue in a HK movie. Obviously the media is still not letting up on the 'jaw-dropping bad' come-back performance of Britney Spears at the MTV Music Awards. Brad Pitt reportedly claimed that his marriage to Jennifer Aniston was over before he pursued Angelina Jolie (Liar!). Some jokes about Jolin Tsai's G-Force (Are they real?). More new HK dramas, more new HK/Chinese/Asian movies and more new singers/actors whom I have never heard of....

My pressies have definitely spiced up my weekend quite a bit. Thanks to you, gals!

Friday, September 28, 2007

Will Singapore men grow old alone?

Ever wonder why there are so many mixed couples nowadays in Singapore? When I say mixed couples, I mean specifically ang moh men with singapore women. There is such a huge growth in such relationships that it is no longer unusual to see these couples on the street as compared to 20 years ago when all they got were stares from bypassers. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against mixed relationship and I should be the last person to do so because I am married to an ang moh myself. The reason for this entry is I have received comments from not one singapore woman, not five but quite a number of them that they will not date singapore men. They rather date ang moh men. That baffles me and disturbs me at the same time. The first thing which dashed through my mind is, 'what's wrong with singapore men?' Well, the general answer is the singapore men they have dated are either jerks, bastards, good-for-nothings etc. Okay, but it does not mean the rest of the men in singapore are all assholes or good-for-nothings, I heard myself saying. One said, somehow the ones she comes into contact with, colleagues or friends, are often the 'undateable ones'. Another version is our men are not macho enough pyhsically when compared to their western counterparts. Or they can't carry themselves well and have no dress sense.

I caught myself shaking my head after hearing them. Somehow it saddens me. I beg to differ. It is so not true that singapore men are undateable and there are just too many narrow-minded people out there trying to diss these poor guys. I want to speak up for them! I for one have many guy friends and most of them are true gentlemen. They open doors for me, insist on paying my drinks/dinner/movie ticket, see to it that I get home safely (okay, I am certainly not a feminist) and they are also great conversationists, have a sense of humour, carry themselves well and not make a fool of themselves after a few drinks, have great dress sense, some are even talented in their own ways and best of all, filial to their parents. Good sons make good husbands, goes a chinese saying. Yes, some of our guys may be smaller in built but wouldn't it be more awkward to be with one whom your head is only up to his armpit? Think giant and dwarf. Some may ask why did I married an ang moh then. It is very simple, when my blue-eyed destiny came knocking on my door, there is no running away from it. I won't run away from my love. I consider it my loss not to have anything more with these great guys. And I am lucky I get to remain good friends with some of them.

My point is black sheeps tend to be everywhere, including Singapore and the western countries. I don't deny some singapore men can be pain in the ass. Even so I have known ang moh men who can't carry proper conversations, have no sense of humor, are tight bastards because they only pay for their own drinks, still live off their parents, smell bad and dress as if they are living in the 80's. Would any woman date them? Not me, for sure! Just because some women are stuck in their offices all day and don't have the chance or do not want to go out and meet new people give them no right or excuse to diss all singapore men. This just goes to show how limited their mindset is.

No wonder the ang moh men in Asia think they are god-send to the women there. My blood boils each time I see how some women throw themselves at every ang moh men or how these men treat these women with such little respect. No woman should ever be treated in this way.

There are sweet guys and jerks all over the world. I just wish my fellow country-guys are given the chance they deserve and are not being slammed at so quickly simply because of some local pricks or some demeritorious ang moh men.

It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white,
So long as it catches mice.
- Deng Xiaoping

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Rock DJ

Fabulous song, great actors, cool cinematography, this video rocks!

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Ode to a dog

I am a bumaholic
Who loves jerkys and milksticks.
I get my kicks
Watching silly human movie flicks.
Yoda said, hey you chocoholic
After chocolate those paws you should lick!
I didn't understand him and next day in public
I got the damn ticks.
My owners got sick
Of the task of tick-pick.
They found their solution through Nick
And used on me shampoo removing ticks.
At last I am span and spick
Off I go and hang out with my dawg, Mick
Who is cool as sleek.
Together we drool at chicks
And pig out on bullysticks.
I doze off to a land of picnics
And wake up to go for a leak.
Ahhh... Life is a wonderful flick!
- missy hoonie

Friday, September 21, 2007

Our differences

In a few months' time, it'll be my 2 years in Germany. That I survived another year, without running back to Singapore each time I got homesick or had a fight with Rieger, calls for a celebration, doesn’t it? Anything for a little party. Haha… What I wanna say is, these past months have offered me an insight on some of the culture differences we have. I wouldn’t call such differences as culture shock. Growing up in Singapore has at least instilled in me some tolerance towards others’ ways of life. I accept them with a laugh or a shrug most time. But on some occasions, I do roll my eyes like nobody’s business.

These are some of the things I’ve observed:

1. Most Germans drink sparkling water. Still water here is like Perrier in Singapore. People look at me funny whenever I ask for tap water.

2. The Germans do not drink plain hot water. They think it is disgusting.

3. The Germans eat rice with fork and knife.

4. The German words 'Gift' means poison, 'dick' means fat, 'die' means the, 'Rock' means skirt, 'Rat' means piece of advice.

5. If I past someone by in my neighbourhood, there is a high chance this person will greet me with a 'Hello' or 'Good day'. Even a kid does that. My neighbours in Singapore didn't even look at me even though we saw each other in the lift on our way to work almost everyday.

6. It is norm to wear shoes here in other people's houses. I'm seriously not used to that until now and I would ask friends to remove their shoes. While in winter, I try to close one eye cos it would be too cold for them, even with socks.

7. At weddings, friends and relatives would pay tribute to the wedded couple by putting up a skit or sketch which are usually about the funny bits of their courtship/habits/teenage or working life. A live band is often engaged to sing while the guests dance till wee hours of the morning. The guests at our Chinese weddings can't even wait till the last of the dinner course before rushing home.

8. We have curry chicken at Chinese funerals. The Germans eat Schnitzel (similar to our pork cutlet) at theirs and only on the last day of the funeral.

9. We put away pictures of the dead ones to lessen our grief. The Germans put up pictures of them to remember them by.

10. Kids here run around in graveyards, playing or looking for holy water to sprinkle on graves. Our kids rather die than play in there.

11. The Germans celebrate birthdays on the day itself or after. The Chinese do it before or on the day itself. Both consider it to be inauspicious if done otherwise.

Another turning point
A fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist
Directs you where to go
So make the best of this test
And don’t ask why

It’s not a question
But a lesson learned in time
It’s something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life
- Green Day


Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Wicked writing

Giving her the eye
A beauty stood on a balcony high,
Sneezed and lost her blue glass eye.
A young man walking down The Strand
Caught the flashing eye-ball one hand.
Invited up to receive her thanks
He drooled on her features, figure, flanks.
While dining on champagne and chicken
These strangers felt their heart beats quicken,
Gazed into each others eyes, imperfections indiscernible,
Including the eye-ball that proved to be returnable.
Over croissants and coffee in the morning
The young man felt suspicion dawning,
Said, "Would you do this for just any passer-by?"
"Oh no!" she said, "He'd have to catch my eye".
By Barney Egan

Monday, September 17, 2007

Kickass granny

This bloke used to smoke pot in his university days and he would dry them religiously in the kitchen of his dorm. One day, his beloved granny turned up for a surprise visit. The two of them had a great time catching up. As night fell, it's time for grandson to go to some wild party while grannny needed her beauty sleep.

As they both sat down for breakfast together the next morning, grannny said, 'I made myself tea last night and I had the best sleep ever since a long time. What tea leaves are those lying around in the kitchen? I have to buy them too!'

Well, surely the bloke wouldn't leave his old granny high and dry. Wahahahaha....

Friday, September 14, 2007

One big happy family

Some friends went to East Germany years ago to visit a friend. Only upon reaching her place did they realise that her parents were separated and that they were still living together and that her mum's boyfriend lived with them and that her dad's girlfriend lived with them too, in a small apartment. Wow, that's so weird.

My imagination then runs wild: The parents didn't have to fight for custody. Daughter would not grow up a twisted psycho killer due to lack of mother/father love. Everyone contributed to the 'Family'. Mum and dad's girlfriend would later give birth to their own children. The kids would run around and play with each other while their dads would look on them dotingly and resume their discussion on football/politics. They lived happily ever after.

Rewind back to when the eldest daughter was 15. Everyone happened to be out one night except for mum's boyfriend and eldest daughter. Mum's boyfriend asked her into his room and then sexually abused her. This happened repeatedly afterwards, while not a soul knew about it. Eldest daughter kept mum, for fear she would ruin the happiness of her family. Finally eldest daughter couldn't take it anymore and committed suicide and no one knew why.

Ok, I got carried away. Must be too much of those dysfunctional family dramas/films/books. The above is of course fictional but it chills my heart to know such things actually do happen in the place where it's often called home. And more often than not, the victims suffer in silence, simply out of fear or fear of being thrown out of the family when such dark secrets are let out and these twisted culprits come away scot free or if found out, they would be sentenced to a few years in jail and get out in no time to hurt other kids again. I get pissed off whenever I read such news because these bastards belong to nowhere else but in jail.

If I had superpower, I would put all these sick psychos behind bars and never ever ever let them out to roam the streets again.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Monster Inc.

This happened last year or sometime before that. Somehow Mr. Rieger needed to write a sms using my nokia phone. Since he is a non-nokia user, he couldn't figure out how to go about sms-ing. Out of frustration, he threw my mobile onto the sofa. I flipped.

Second incident happened few days ago. I called Mr. Rieger in the office to help buy some groceries for me after his work. I needed them for the pot luck party at home the next day. He came home without the eggs. He apologised and said I could always get them the next morning. Reasonable enough but I flipped again. I wanted all the ingredients to be ready as I was going to be real busy the next day. He then drove 10 mins to his parents to get some eggs (shops were closed by then) and 10 mins back. I was so ashamed of myself.

I am bloody guilty now while writing this. I just cannot understand why I can be so evil to the one whom I love and to whom I vow to spend the rest of my life with. I am supposed to be the loving partner. Yes, no one can be nice and loving 24/7. But at times, this dreadful monster just overcomes me and I can be such a bitch for no apparent reasons. There must be something very wrong with me... Like jekyll and hyde. Yet I can't make empty promises that I will change because I know myself so damn well. I will change when the leopard changes its spots.

Am I the only one left on this earth behaving in such a ridiculous way? I am quite certain there are others like me. They could be those whom I see day in day out, hang out with, party with, work with... It's just that we are all hiding behind our masks and no one can tell which one is Mr Hyde or when he is coming...

For the time being I should perhaps do more yoga. Exhaaaaaaale........ Inhaaaaaaale........

Where is Singapore?

At a friend's hen night I was sitting next to this Russian girl who has been living in Germany for the last ten years. We started to make small talk.

She: So tell me, what is Singapore like?
Me: Oh, Singapore is a city, a little like Berlin, London, New York...
She: What kind of food do you normally have in Singapore?
Me: Rice, noodles, fried noodles, meat, vegetables...
She: The food you eat must be very healthy. All the Chinese are so slim and look so young.
Me: Oh no, we do have unhealthy food too, deep fried stuffs, cakes for example..
She: You have cakes in Singapore? What kinds?!
Me, not understanding her reaction: Chocolate cakes, Cheese cakes, Blackforest etc.
She (looking very surprised): Oh...
I continued: You know, we have MacDonald's, Burger King, KFC too...
She: WHAT???!!

That's when I realised she thought Singapore was in some ulu part of China.
______________________________________________
Was introduced to a friend's old schoolmate.

He: Where are you from?
Me: I am from Singapore.
He: Oh, Singapore! From China!
Me: No no... Singapore is not in China. Singapore is in Southeast-asia.
He gave me a blank look.
Me: Singapore is next to Malaysia and Indonesia.
Another blank look.
Me: We are very near to Thailand too.
He: Ah, Thailand! I know Thailand!

But of course, the Germans and Thailand. Hahahaha....

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Matters of the heart Part 2

Months after Ex-Boyfriend and Ex-Girlfriend came back from their holiday, they are still living together in the same apartment, sleeping on the same bed and going about their lives as before except that they have, in theory, broken up. Ex-Boyfriend is very comfortable with the present situation which means no big changes for him, he does not have to be alone and he himself admits he has no guts to explain to family and friends why he initiated the breakup. He won't kick her out of the apartment cos he does not want to be the asshole. Well, who asked for a break-up in the first place? Now the bloody jerk is playing it nice. Which leads to Ex-Girlfriend mistaking his complacency for his unwillingness to let go and refuses to accept that this guy told her months before he does not love her. Meanwhile she looks feebly in the newspapers for new apartments which are either too small, too big, too far, too expensive blah blah blah and continues to bombard us with why did he do this that day, why did he say that, why, why, why, why!!! She also annoys the hell out of us by analysing each thing he says and does while our words of advice fall on deaf ears. Friends find excuses to avoid going out with them and Mr Selfish Chickenshit doesn't understand why.

I suggest Ms Whiny Prideless and Mr Selfish Chickenshit should get back together, in theory or whatever, to make everybody's life, including theirs, easier. Love doesn't matter anymore here since they are both behaving like junveniles. They would get by together. Happy ending.

*Few months later, Ms Whiny Prideless came home early after work to find Mr Selfish Chickenshit shagging another girl in their bed.*