I hate pop-up ads!

Heh… I wonder if that’s the only thing I can say after four days of not blogging.

But really, there isn’t much going on my life right now. I’m in a constant state of lethargy, feeling absolutely tired from doing absolutely… nothing. Yeah, work has been slightly busier than usual, but not to an extent where I don’t have the ability to do anything but stone. I think it’s just one of those times when your mind and your body are on a collective strike. Fortunately for me, direcow has provided me with a couple of games to keep me busy during these times. It’s nice to know that after all these years, I still remember how to play Leisure Suit Larry 6. Brings back wonderful mammari… I mean… memories. Heh.

The good news is, I’m getting a new Acer computer this week, so expect more interesting stuff up on THoR (which I haven’t touched in quite a while, I know) soon.

In other news, Monday nights have taken a turn for the worse. Yesterday was great because I got to see Angela in a really small two-piece in The Bachelor, but unfortunately, she got “voted off” at the end of the show. If that wasn’t bad enough, none of the remaining 8 girls he picked really did very much for my libido. You’ve lost another viewer, stupid fool.

Scrubs on the other hand, makes Monday nights worth looking forward to. Yesterday’s episode was so amazingly good – and it featured three simulataneous “deaths”! Okay… well, that isn’t exactly the exact reason why it was good, but they also played Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” at the end of it! Yeah, it really ended the day on a good note (pun intended).

Phew.

It’s been a busy week, and Thank God It’s Friday!

I had a great time last night during my lindy hop lessons. Several of my classmates didn’t turn up, so the class was smaller, and we got more things done. I’m really very impressed with the teacherbugs (that’s what we call the instructors) and with their style of educating. It’s patient, yet firm – engaging, yet enjoyable. I don’t know if their ability comes from years of experience (both dancing and teaching), or if it stems from a natural talent. I consider it both an honour and a privilege to be taught by them – even though I am paying $12 per lesson for it, it’s money well spent.

But the real joy comes from learning from other Lindy dancers, who are in the intermediate classes and it’s quite a rush to know that they’re reacting to your every move, every gesture, every physical hint you can provide. It’s a purely enriching experience, and the only cost is your time and theirs, which makes it all worthwhile.

A church friend of mine, who also does Lindy (she began more than a year ago!) came down for the 9pm Swing Fling (which is basically a weekly social event for dancers of all experience levels to get together), and I learnt a lot from her too. She’s also a reader of this blog, and we had a good time talking about blogging in general – me doing much of the talking, naturally. I’d like to think I’m fortunate to have friends like her who are willing to listen to me ramble – friends like all of you who read my blog on a mostly regular basis. Thank you all.

Crazy dream

I had a REALLY crazy dream last night. I dreamt I was part of the cast in the latest movie of the Halloween franchise. Now, just for the record, I haven’t watched any of the 8 Halloween movies, and till the trailers appeared for Halloween: Resurrection, I had no idea who or what the character Michael Myers was, other than it shared the same name as a veteran comic actor who is most well-known today for his role as Austin Powers.

Nonetheless, there I was, casted as, of all people, the person who’s supposed to initiate the killing spree of Myers. But the movie was SO slow-paced and so draggy, that 10 minutes before my “murder” was to take place, I couldn’t wait anymore and…. woke up.

Naturally, I was late for work this morning.

It’s just one of those days.

Halloween: the festival, not the horror series

I’m thinking of having a small get together on the night of the 31st, i.e. All Hallows’ Eve itself. I guess when you’re 20, everything just seems possible for you. I might just restrict it to my close circle of friends, but I’ll need a plan first. Does anyone have a suggestion, or can I tag along with any of your Halloween groups?

I promise I’ll be good…..

The world is F*cked Up

Yes, it is. If the headlines on the daily papers weren’t already signs of an impedending global disaster, this morning I receive a mail from a friend of mine studying in the University of Monash telling a few of us that there’s been a shooting, and as of her e-mail, 2 have died and 2 are in critical condition. School violence all over again? Yeah, it would seem the case.

UPDATE: Well, it would seem that the latest news from AP indicate the prime suspect to be an Asian man in his 30s, so I doubt it was a planned shooting. Then again, what do I know? See this article for more details.

I do hope it wasn’t due to a stupid misunderstanding, or some displaced pride. That is SERIOUSLY the wrong way to go. Reminds me of the “Gang Lu” case in 1991 (which I just read about in the October issue of Singapore FHM – featuring the yummy Melody Chen on the cover). Basically, a Chinese scholar in Iowa City, was pissed about being passed over for a $1000 Physics award, so he shot the lecturers who chose the receipient, the recepient, a fellow Chinese student, and then shot himself before the police came.

Nuts.

I’ve long given up on the world, but I hate to be proved right.

The worst is over…

I have rusty hips.

Well, technically, that’s a given, considering I haven’t done ANY physical exercise since I did the 2.4km walk/run in Basic Military Training in May 2001. Amazing? Yeah, well, I never found the need to, anyway.

Until now.

Lindy Hop is fun. It really is! I really enjoyed all 3 hours spent at Jitterbugs, Orchard Plaza last night. You see, I attribute the success of the dance to the fact that men are required to “lead” the dance. Leads (as they are known) dictate how their partner (known as “follows”) dance through subtle gestures. As a result, the leads are expected to know what they want to do long before they execute the next move, because they also have to “inform” their follow so that she is also able to execute her version of the move. This inculcates in the lead a high level of self-confidence, even to the point of independence and self-indulgence. The huge draw of this is, as I surmise, the natural attraction of a man who is comfortable with himself and his body, making him both physically and sexually appealing to his partner, as well as anyone who watches him in action. Naturally, this comes as an epiphany to me.

Now, I’ve always known self-confidence was a great advantage to men, and having said attribute usually makes one irresistable, regardless of level of physical attraction. But having actually felt inadequate next to a whole bunch of swinging couples, I’ve realised how terrible it must be to lose one’s confidence. There I was, at the side of the dance floor, the rare lead (for some reason men are less forthcoming when signing up for these lessons) among a relatively numerous bunch of follows, and feeling like the ultimate flowerpot. Even when women, sensing my hesitation, I’m guessing, asked me to dance, I wasn’t gung-ho enough to show off what little I’d learnt just a few hours before.

So, as you can tell, Lindy Hop is more than just a very interesting and fascinating dance, ranging from the very simple 6-count East Coast Swing to the 8-count Lindy Hop that most people see and recognise; it’s a total package which includes grooming, social etiquette, and confidence building. I highly recommend it to everyone.

WWE Unforgiven: Kurt Angle VS Chris Benoit

I consider myself fortunate to have caught the match between these two excellent technical wrestlers. The action was minimal but that’s the way real wrestling should be. Though there was a close to clichéd build-up between these two excellent heels, it was worth it to see both of them put up a clinic in September’s Pay-Per-View, Unforgiven.

The two atheletes set the pace of the match from the very beginning, grappling, exchanging arm bars, chicken wings, and other submission move before Benoit caught Angle in his signature submission move, the Crippler Crossface. But Angle, instead of selling the move like everyone usually does, tenaciously pulled his body over to the ropes for to break the hold. I knew then that it would take every single move in either wrestler’s repertoire to pull off the win.

Naturally, after this first clash, Angle struck back with a couple of moves of his own, before putting Benoit in the Angle Lock. Benoit sold the move rather well (as always) but he also reached and successfully grabbed the ropes. Well, this goes on for several minutes, with neither man seemingly getting the upper hand. There’s a great amount of work going into this match, and the audience really appreciates all of it. The ovation they received after a particularly complex set of submissions, reversals, and jockeying was in itself reward for putting up a technical wrestling clinic.

Naturally, like all heel-heel matches, Chris Benoit is forced to cheat and use the ropes for leverage while pinning Kurt Angle. After almost 14 minutes of sheer mat prowess, I think I can safely say that Benoit and Angle are now my two favourite wrestlers. Please, do a biography on them, someone!

The Road to Paradise Lost

Saturday evening, and a whole host of us youth got together, as was our fortnightly tradition, to pray. We prayed for many things, asking Mother Mary to intercede with us and for us. I distinctly recall praying “for all those who believe they have lost all hope”. Less than a few minutes before that, without my knowledge, a car bomb had exploded in the island paradise of Bali.

On Sunday afternoon, I received a call from work. It was one of my fellow clerks asking me if any of my officers had gone to Indonesia for a holiday. I told him no, and I asked him why. Naturally, he didn’t tell me, but politely said goodbye. I assumed he had other clerks to call. True enough, when I went out with several of my colleagues, they all confirmed that they received a call from the same guy with the same question. None of us thought much about it, though, and we enjoyed the Oktoberfest celebrations along Boat Quay.

Monday came, and the papers arrived early that morning. The headlines were large, concise and frightening. “187 killed in Bali” it read. I remember sitting down at my chair, pondering the immensity of the whole situation. The tragedy was just too horrific to comprehend, so for the rest of the day, I didn’t spend a second thought to it. Instead, I carried on my life as usual, and to be frank, so did everyone in my immediate vicinity.

Five days later, as the Bali terrorist attack saturates the news, and every single journalist is tasked to look into an aspect of all this (I should know because I was one of them during last year 9-11 event), I sit down at home and listen to my father read out yet another commentary in Streats. What do I think of all this?

I really don’t know. I just have no idea where to start commenting about it.

Do something useless today!

Thought Grand Theft Auto was fun? Try Furious George, a cute, addictive game about a monkey’s crime spree throughout the United States. Can you beat my high score of 7000?