Read Sluggy Freelance today!

Yes, that is a switchblade-wielding bunny.

So many things

I have a life. The truth of this statement shocks me. Less than two years ago, I barely dreamed of a time when I could spend hour after hour with group of friends after group of friends. This weekend, I found myself leaving home in the morning and only returning home at night on both Saturday and Sunday. It’s a great feeling to know that I need not spend my time in front of a PC wasting my life away, but instead actually spending time with the people I trust, those I call my friends.

Visited the new Zara shop at Ngee Ann City today with astronaut and kakita. The fashion there is pretty chic, and I caught my eye on one or two duds which will probably cost me a bomb (i.e. one month’s SAF allowance). But I might get some stuff some day…. astronaut says half the male NUS Engineering undergrads don’t bother to dress up… I hope I won’t end up like that when I go to NTU next year. But knowing me, that’s probably exactly how I’ll end up, considering my wardrobe consists of three bottoms (of which my No. 3 pants is one) as well as about 10 assorted tops which I’ve had for a year or more. Yeah, I think I might go back to the store one day, when there are less people to barge into, but still enough to ogle at.

Ah, Singaporeans girls… can’t do without them, can’t do much with them. *heh*

I’m kidding. People tend to take me seriously at the wrong moments.

By the way, it’s official. Kinokuniya has more or less replaced Borders as THE bookstore for me. It was our next stop after the Zara visit, because astronaut wanted to pick up the next two Sandman books for her collection. I was so impressed with the fact that they managed to stockpile all their comic Trade Paperbacks and re-arrange them so that they were easier to find, I went ahead and bought a copy of Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD just to say ‘I appreciate the effort you put into this section’. In Borders, people just read the comics. Then they go buy the book in Kino. I’ll have to check if they have a membership discount card or something.

P.S. Thanks to all who responded to Thursday’s blog. It’s a topic rather close to my heart, and I’m glad for the opportunity to share my point of view with you.

To abort or not to abort

I’ve just come from a discussion on the MINDEF forums regarding pro-life and pro-choice, where I seem to be the part of the minority gunning for pro-life. Now, having discussed this topic with a couple of my close friends, I think it’s almost safe to say that in Singapore, at least, many people believe in sexual intercourse as a consumation of a couple’s love for each other. I’m not disregarding this definition, but I’d prefer to think that, more than intercourse, children are the consumation of a couple’s love. I’m not demeaning sex, or a person’s sexuality in any way, but I’m saying that creating life is of higher import. Essentially, sexual intercourse is not simply an after-dark form of entertainment, but rather a concious decision to participate in a holy and sacred union, along with the desire to accept the gift of children should the Almighty be generous.

One of the many pro-choice arguments, and arguably the basis of the issue itself, is the dignity of the mother and whether she has a say over the zygote and the resultant human being that it will grow into. I believe even the mother has no say about whether the baby within her womb should continue to live or not. The most controversial argument would be whether she has a right to abort a child that is born out of wedlock and/or after a rape. I for one, believe that there should be no compromise. A child’s life should not be defined by the circumstances leading to birth, just as no child should be discriminated against based on race, skin colour, or location of birth.

Would I be saying all this if I wasn’t Catholic? Perhaps not. But my understanding is that should I be convinced of the sanctity of the sexual act, convinced that humans were designed to procreate in a beautiful act of love, convinced that children were more than just a by-product of that union, then I would wholeheartedly agree with the Church’s stand, and heartily denounce all forms of unnatural sexual activities.

Superheroes

It’s like a dream come true for me. Two of my favourite WWE athletes coming together, complementing each other, and winning the WWE Tag Team Championships. It was truly an awesome night for the combined efforts of Kane and The Hurricane.

Now Kane’s been my favourite for the longest time (since his initial appearance in Octoebr 1997). He showed me that powerhouses (wrestlers who use their above average size to their advantage) aren’t necessarily always brawlers. Though Kane’s stayed in the shadow of his onscreen brother The Undertaker for a long while, people began to notice a difference between the two. Kane was faster, quicker and his moves came like lightning bolts against his enemies. His trademark mask gave him a menacing look, but it was nothing compared to seeing this 7 foot, 326 pound giant taking off from the top rope, leaping towards you, arm outstretched, giving you a clothesline only Bradshaw could hope to match. The Big Red Machine has climbed high above all expectations, winning the WWE Championship, wrestling alongside Hulk Hogan and the Rock, and earning the admiration and respect from thousands of Kane-ites all over the world.

The Hurricane was a natural favourite for me, because he fashioned himself on DC Comics’ Green Lantern (as can be seen from the tattoo on his right upper arm). According to stories, a road agent noticed his tattoo, and upon revelation of the significance behind the symbol, set out to create the WWE’s latest superhero. “Stand back!” began the cry. “There’s a Hurricane coming through!” To rid the WWE of the evil monsters that wreak terror and havok, that was the purpose of the Hurricane. Which works, of course, only if he was superhuman. Time and time again, the clueless superhero tried in vain to stop the likes of the giant Big Show, but all he got out of it was a sore butt and a bruised ego. That is, until a new breed of evil came along in the form of the Japanese Buzzsaw Tajiri, and the likes of Trailer Park Trash Nidia and her boyfriend Jamie Noble. Thus was the Hurricane a force to be reckoned with, and now, with fellow masked man Kane in his corner, this cruiserweight looks to put the Eye of the Storm on anyone and everyone who dares threaten the forces of good.

Blogging

I’ve been going through my archives, and stuff, and I’ve noticed that I’ve not done proper blogging (i.e. journal style writing). All I’ve done is tell the whole world what’s happened in my life, and that gets rather boring for those that hardly know me, because naturally, most people who drop by don’t really care what’s going on in my life. That being said, I think it’s time to live up to this blog’s name of Catholic War Machine, or change it altogether to suit the domain name http://korgath.blogspot.com/

Or I could just change the domain name and call it CWM.blogspot.com…. nah… too troublesome.

Why call it Catholic War Machine in the first place? I don’t know.

Sunday.

At astronaut’s suggestion, the four of us decided to visit her church’s monthly “café” for lunch and for a place to sketch. Now, I’ve always passed by the Singapore Hakka Methodist Church on my way home from the Church of St. Alphonsus (better known as the Novena Church), but yesterday was the first time I actually went within the compound. It’s a quaint little place, almost reminiscent of my own parish before it was renovated.

Ah well, we did the usual sketching, then left for United Square (which looks really good renovated, I must say) where we sketched even more… You know… I should stop saying we, because I don’t sketch, even if I wanted to.

That night was pretty cool. Went out with a couple of colleagues from work, sorta like a farewell celebration for two of them who were going to leave for one reason or another. It was a generally small-time affair, which resulted in them paying for most of the meal. A good thing too, considering I’m flat broke half of the time. Anyway, after a blasé, but generally mediocre meal at Beppu Menkan Japanese Noodle Restaurent, we headed off to a relaxing night at New Asia, on the 71st floor of Swissôtel The Stamford (supposedly the tallest hotel in the world).

Leaving On A Jet Plane

Funny how the people you meet affect you in big and small ways. In the space of two days (i.e. yesterday and the day before that) I’ve had to say goodbye to two friends who were leaving for the United Kingdom (one to Scotland, one to Heathrow…) One of them was a JC classmate, whom I like to consider a friend, though I’ve personally not put in the effort to maintain a proper friendship. When I met her earlier this month, she told me not to see her off, and though I did debate whether she was serious or not, I decided to take her at face value, and not bother (It was on my birthday too, and I was with astronaut the whole evening, anyway).

On Friday, however, a person whom I’ve only known for several months leaves, and for some reason, I feel compelled to see him off.

Why? I dunno.