More activities today:
Trip to JB with my "Indian" tour guide,
Who is actually "mungent".
Bah Kut Teh (sedap!),
Holiday Plaza (secret doors),
City Square (geeky shopping).

A cold ride back to Queen Street,
And we dropped off into the pissing rain.
Picked up air ticket at Far East Plaza,
Stupid tailor shop with my jeans closed early again.
Met LX who is back from backpacking for dinner,
At a Thai restaurant along Killiney.

Mega-frustrated at the amount I have to pay,
For the trip to Thailand last week.
Definitely the most expensive 3.5 days in Thailand,
I have ever experienced through my 26 years of life.

Fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkk.

Activities today:
Visited Bin at workplace.
Sent jeans for alteration.
Read abit on Rural Lighting.
"Hard Candy" with Gambetta at Lido.
Discussion of thesis.
Purchase of air ticket -
Slapped with 'Osama tax',
Because departure date is near 9/11.

7 September.
That is it.

When nothing quotable seems sufficient.

When one is unable to find,
That very prose, or song, or design,
To reflect his exact state of mind,
To relate his emotions and thoughts,
He writes, sings or draws.

The desire to create,
Comes from exasperation.
Even desperation.

So please,
I beg that those feelings in me,
Will pull me through this time.

Back from work in Thailand.

Drowsy hot weather,
Extended sleeping hours on the van,
Rolling padi fields,
Ponds of fat catfishes,
Rows of mango trees,
Small kids with innocent eyes,
Adults with kind smiles,
Fluoresent lamps all over...
Before occupation hazard gets to me,
Let the pictures speak for themselves.



The last three pictures,
Are of the happening RCA,
And the infamous BedSupperClub.

Thanks to Adri's recommendation,
And videoclip of the superb vibes,
I checked it out alone,
And was kindly refused entry,
To the whole corridor of bars,
Because I had no ID with me.
Clubbers take note!

Ended up back in the hotel,
Where I learnt from a colleague,
That we live on the same street,
As the 'most famous club in Bangkok'.
Avoided paying 300B,
Simply by turning up after 0030h.
Afterall, all I wanted,
Was just to check out the interior.
Very very white and sleek.
Full of farangs and young thai girls.
To each his/her own. :]

I forgot to mention earlier,

That I joined the 'special' group,
Of the Singaporean passport holders,
To go through the customs the 'high tech' way.

By scanning your passport,
(Similar to how you scan your IC,
When you borrow books from the library)
You go through a pair of plastic gates,
Whereby you leave your thumbprint on a scanner,
Go through another set of plastic gates,
And that is it.
As easy as using the MRT.
I even had three to four police officers,
To make sure that I didn't try to cheat.

The only down side,
Instead of having the customs officer,
Flip your passport and say 'Welcome Home.',
All you get is 'beep beep'.
Assuming you don't get error messages.

Another weekend,
With "long lost" friends,
Filling in the day time,
And partytime,
Filling in the nights.

Despite the party crowds,
Not being my usual type,
The drinks and company,
Were enough to contribute to a good time.

Friday -
"Tan Chang Ren" & C+C (yes yes),
With Shereen and Will.
Missed HB+JX's slot,
But bumped into 2 aki mates.

Saturday -
No Balacalva due to overcrowding,
But Momo live music with FY and Esther.

Shit Service Sunday -

Super 'cao bin' (black face) management trainee,
Found at 'Simple Life' at Wheelock.
Please, what happened to that smiles campaign?
That face was just appetite spoiling.
But of course CK's excellent company,
Made up for all of that.

While at Sim Lim Tower on Sunday,
I met one of the worst shop owners,
While trying to buy LEDs and paraphenalia,
To start off my thesis.
If you like nasty bosses,
Do go to that 'china shop',
Located at the top floor of that building.

An email from Stockholm,
Reminding me that thesis is due,
Latest by 2nd week of October.
I am so not going to make it. :[

Went to NUS for matriculation today,
And now I am officially a student of NUS again.
The shockingly long queue for bus 96 at Clementi,
Stretched from the terminal to the MRT,
Reminding me that I MUST stay near campus,
When I eventually return to this ulu-kampung.

If everything goes well at work,
I will be doing a site visit next week,
To a remote village in Thailand.
All the feelings of disappointment,
Should go away rather quickly -
It could even speed up my thesis writing!
I hope I get some sponsorship,
Cos I am still very skint.

Feeling a little bit cheated,
About what I am working on.
My emphasise for this break,
Should be thesis,
And not a richo's mansion!

Kind of defended an ex yesterday,
Regarding a small rumour about her,
And I feel a little heroic.

I don't like saying bad things,
About people I have liked,
Even if they were really terrible.
It would say alot about me too, no?

Minus those nights that I drank sufficiently,
I have been suffering from insomnia lately.

So I shall write about my Sunday.

Bought a new bag from Army Market,
That I was eyeing since last week.
A Caribee Element 32 from Australia.
It even comes with a small Aussie flag,
Sewn into the side of the front pocket.
-_-

Sometimes I feel like a tourist in this city,
Which I have spent more than enough years,
Growing up and getting worn out in.
There are still so many places and things,
I have to learn about my own nation.
I realised I would rather be a tourist here.
At least it keeps my perspectives fresh.

Tried to do a bit of thesis work,
In a very peaceful SMU.
Work can get quite addictive,
If one finds the right direction.
I feel the intense need to find a passion.
The passion.

Checked out Ruth's gig at Bishan CC in the evening,
And met another two people I haven't seen for eons.
1. Weifei who also shaved her head for charity.
2. Gail with a good voice from this school China trip.
Both Ruth/Cat Ong's gig and Verve-EnHarmonics,
Gave an excellent performance worth standing ovation.
Community centres should continue to organise,
More of these quality live music sessions.

Went for ShortCuts today,
At the National Museum.
'Aik Khoon' was about a taxi-driver,
Who was an architecture graduate.
How encouraging...

This week has been pretty good.

Fireworks - check.
Goodbye Frodine - check.
Red Dot - check.
Hang out with cousin - check.

But
Thesis - only half a step.

JustOneOfThoseDays.
That I would like a hole.

Crazy week.
The brilliant kind.
[Thanks to the arrival of Gluten-free.]

Wednesday:
Walking On Water rehearsals
+ Meeting the band
+ Pick up LX from Changi

Thursday:
More WOW rehearsals
+ Lighting conceptualisation with LX

Friday: Party Day!
MOS + Velvet Underground + Zouk
MOS really sucks,
With long waits at the bar,
Just because the bartenders,
Who think they are so cool,
Are more interested in looking cool,
Than serving customers.
I spotted Phyllis Quek at Zouk. :]

Saturday: Super long day

WOW Concert at UCC.
Spent the day setting up,
Doing light plots,
Programming the lights,
And it was show time!
Hope the girls love what we did.

Stefanie Sun was sitting,
Right in front of the control room.
And her very excited friend,
Waved in front of the projector,
Such that a large hand shadow,
Appeared on the big screen.
Got LX to go to speak to them:
"For your information,
There is a projector behind you,
So if you like to,
You can do little shapes like birds,
Other than just waving."
Hahaha.

Thanks to a girl called Donna,
Who was working in the control room too,
I might actually get an invitation,
To the Singapore Biennale.
That would be really fantastic.

Bumped into many old school mates,
After the wonderful concert,
Makes me feel a little embarassed,
That I am still a student.

DJ Shadow at Zouk after show.
Supersuper packed.
Thanks to Hui Ee & Ed,
Who queued an hour plus for us,
We got in without much effort.
Excellent show,
Followed by very filling supper.

Sunday: Cultural Day for LX
Bah Kut Teh lunch with Mom,
Walk around Orchard area,
Army market bag shopping trip,
Drinks at Samar around Arab Street,
Dinner (with hands) at Little India,
Walk amongst the mega-crowded streets,
With only Indian men with moustaches.

Monday:
Dinner at Newton with Lips,
Then drinks at #5 Emerald Hill.

Tuesday: Byebye
LX left for Manila on morning flight.

National Day holiday is much required,
To rest my tired body and soul.

Some security checks at Thumper,
Resulted in delayed entrance.
Non-party music went on for too long.
Like how things always happen,
Good music only started when I had to leave.

It was great meeting Krristy, Vale, etc,
But I can't say it was a fantastic night.

The alternating Thumper fun-level cycle,
Proved that it is for real.

LX is arriving tomorrow,
So that is some rough week,
With crazy times to look forward to.

At times like these,
I wish I was more lookist.