There you go.

I've been busy. So, so busy. The graduation stuff is really taking up a lot of my time, more than I thought it would. I guess that's what usually happens when you're in one of its busiest committee. I am under Editorial, but I originally signed up for Program Book because that really sounded like the simplest thing to do. In the end, it was combined with the Magazine committee and I ended up under Layout, sub-committee for Magazine, which also happens to be the busiest. I still feel so...*oooaaarrrggghhh*, wondering how I ended up there when I actually wanted to do as little work as possible. XD

Anyway, what I was planning to post before I ended up ranting about that was about my trip to Singapore. My dad, my sister and I flew off just a few days after my exams. Actually, since two weeks have already passed, I don't really remember much. We were staying at Lion City Hotel for three nights, and contrary to what the online reviews said, Lion City Hotel is actually a good place to stay in. It was quite cheap too, $100++ per night, although that probably has something to do with the relative we have working there. Haha.

Yes, we have relatives in Singapore, it's actually a pretty confusing story. Lets see. My great-grandfather was studying in Johor at that time, and married a Malaysian woman. They then have two daughters. One of the daughters married a Malaysian. When my great-grandfather's (I'm just going to refer to him as GG after this. Waddup Double G?!) wife passed away, he went back to Brunei, bringing his other daughter with him. There, he re-married to a Bruneian woman, and had my grandfather as a result. The other daughter married a Singaporean and migrated there. The end. I have no idea. I forgot half the story. It was sort of our bedtime story for the three nights. So yeah, I have Malaysian and Singaporean relatives. I have a HUGE age gap with my cousins over there, most were over 40 years old.

My feet were so effin' sore. We walked alot. We spent the first day in Orchard Road. Our hotel was actually quite far away. It was a $10 ride using the taxi, and that was during off-peak time. The second day, we actually WALKED A LOT. From Geylang to City Hall we used an MRT, and after that... I have no idea how much we walked. And thanks to that, my feet become sore almost quickly for the third and fourth day.

My favourite spot was HMV. So many Ayuuuuuuuuuuu. Sorry, this is coming from someone who's not used to seeing original DVDs. It's THAT bad.

A BEST 2 -Black-, Premium Countdown Live 2008-2009, A BEST 2 -WHITE-
My dad was asking, aren't these two the same? Um no, the content isn't. Sorry for the fugly Ayus. That's just the beginning.


Secret, my favourite cover and favourite album, and Sunset/Sunrise, latest single as of now and fugly cover. COMPARE. That's pretty much the end of Ayu stuff I bought.


Do As Infinity *something Live*, OLIVIA's The Cloudy Dreamer. It was JP version, therefore fudgin' expensive. $53, and that was CD-only.


Panic! At the Disco's A Fever You Can't Sweat Out (their only album I like), Three Days' Grace's Three Days Grace (lol), Linkin Park's Meteora (I finally completed my Linkin Park album collection XD), Gothic Acoustic Tribute to Linkin Park (eh, wasn't really my type, but I was curious D:), Bowling For Soup goes to the Movies, Breaking Benjamin's Dear Agony (latest yaw)


I couldn't find SOLANIN!!!!11!!111! I am sad. But hey, there's still Asano Inio. I bought Subarashii Sekai vol 1 and vol 2, and Emma vol 8. It was the only Emma I could find. Unfortunately, the main Emma manga, I could not find.


ZigZag vol 07, 08, 09, finally complete. Brunei is still stuck on vol 4, and I didn't want to read it online. I actually planned on not buying it because I stopped reading a few months ago, but good thing I did, because when I started reading again, I remember why I loved it!


TSGS vol 19, Brunei doesn't have this one yet. It's the latest. This particular volume made me tear up alot, when vol 18 actually had some hilarious stories in it. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, haha, I'm obsessed. Shut it, it's not only for kids. XD Speed Grapher vol 3, just because. No, don't look at the boobies!!!

So there. I don't know how much I spent, but I spent a lot. Of course I bought some clothes and shoes too, but who cares about that, ammirite.

Mainly Solanin♥

First things first. One, I have a new banner, as you can see. Yes, I am THAT in love with Ayu's new cover that I decided to use it in the banner. I also have an alternate banner:-

^ This image, I shall talk about later! ♥

Today is my brother's 9th birthday. We were planning to have the usual school party for him, but as it turns out, it was field trip day for them. They're going to the museums, and that's when my dad decided to hold the party at the KFC in Yayasan.

I actually had school too, I needed to return the books, but they wanted me to come as well, so after rushing with everything, I finally made it. Dammit, I hate rush modes. XD

This was the best picture I could get of him 0___0 He moves a heck lot.


I love this shot. They actually wanted the group photo to be in front of the fountain, until my dad decided that on the stairs would be better!

And, that's that.

Now, onto Solanin.


What's that? You never heard of Solanin? Well, that's probably because at just one look of the cover, you probably don't see any big-eyed, big-booby lady or pretty, girly-looking boy, or someone with some armor or cool weapon with them. Maybe it's because it's not your typical shoujo manga with weak, some 'ordinary' girl easily falling in love with hot but cold guy, or maybe it's because it's not filled with supernatural weirdness, where someone for whatever reason is more special than those around him, the chosen one---

I could go on forever. This actually frustrates me because it's so hard to find original manga anymore, even in vast sites like mangafox or mangatraders. Don't get me wrong, I used to be a huge fan of shoujo mangas, although not the aforementioned type. Of course, this is not the first time I've read this sort of manga. Before this, there was Nana, Paradise Kiss, Cat Street (I LOVE CAT STREET), etc. I was in one of 'those moods' when I was looking for some Slice of Life genres. Thanks to me wasting my time (in between exams, for that matter) browsing the whole site of mangatrader for something worthwhile, I stumbled upon this jewel.

College graduates struggle to cope with the real world. Music offers refuge in this modern manga with an American attitude.

Meiko Inoue is a recent college grad working as an office lady in a job she hates. Her boyfriend Shigeo is permanently crashing at her apartment because his job as a freelance illustrator doesn't pay enough for rent. And her parents in the country keep sending her boxes of veggies that just rot in her fridge. Straddling the line between her years as a student and the rest of her life, Meiko struggles with the feeling that she's just not cut out to be a part of the real world.

Quoted from Amazon.com. Why was I on Amazon? Because I was wondering if there were any English language versions of this manga. Why was I wondering? Because I'm hoping that I could own a physical copy of this manga. That's how much I love it. Not a big deal to you?

You see, I am a fan of downloads. Not really a fan, but obviously that's the best way to get my entertainment due to the lack of it here in real life. But, I would sometimes go over the boundary, which has happened with Ayumi since last year. So far, I think I've spent $200+ on her, and I intend to spend more. It's just worth it, I felt, and that's exactly what I'm hoping for with this manga.

I'm hoping that I'll be able to buy a copy of this when I go to Singapore, if I can't find it, I will beg with blood and tears with my dad to let me order it on Amazon. Uhm, I disgress.

Admittedly, when I found this manga, the initial genres in the filter were 'romance' and 'slice of life'. Figuring that wasn't enough, and from a past experience that brought me Emma: Victorian Romance (also another manga I looove), I included 'Seinen' in it too. For some reason, the Shonen and Seinen genre, f0r being targeted for the male audience, young and mature respectively, though not strictly, they appear to be more realistic, less mooshiness. The romance, heck, the usual life activities are much more life-like than the Josei and Shoujo.

Anyway, back to Solanin, I don't know how to express my love for it. I love it. I love it a lot. The five characters have just graduated from college, and each one of them with their own issues. The romance in this story wasn't the main thing. This was a couple who's been dating for six years, and lived together for a year. They are way past the honeymoon stage. There was no more need for sweet promises and whatnot. They were beyond that, yet there were still some sweet moments, even without the need to express mooshiness. No love triangle, no intervening of a third party, no more of those usual high school drama. It was a refreshing change for me.

After each chapter, if I wasn't holding back tears, I would contemplate with my own life, especially since I will be graduating soon as well. That fear of entering the adult life, discouragements and demotivations, hopes and expectations, how am I going to face all that?

Sure, the art style isn't your typical kawaii-girl, ikemen-boy type. That's another part of its uniqueness. It doesn't need over-sized eyes (or goddamned boobies) to attract its readers. A simple synopsis was all it needed to make me read it. Art style plays a big deal in my choice of manga, and although this isn't what I would normally be looking for, it's still good. I love the art style. As you can see, I'm loving everything about this manga.


I've read excerpts of Inio Asano's other manga. They were really good too, more slice of life, more, you know, life life. Subarashii Sekai, I want you. Inio Asano, you are the man.

One thing that made me really excited about Solanin is that it's going to have a live-action film in 2010.


Usually, I'm skeptical about these live-actions, but one thing changed my mind. The actress protraying Inoue Meiko is none other thaaaaan...Miyazaki Aoi!!!!!11!!1

Miyazaki Aoi, Miyazaki Aoi, Miyazaki Aoi. I love Miyazaki Aoi, therefore:-

Miyazaki Aoi + Solanin= ULTIMATE WIN

I have no idea who the rest of the cast members are, but I trust Miyazaki Aoi. She's starred in several independent films, which I love as well, and of course mainstream movies too and I'm sure this one is going to be a breeze. She had also portrayed Tensho'in Atsu-hime in the drama Atsu-hime, the wife of the 13th Tokugawa Shogun, Tokugawa Iesada. (Yes, I actually remember all those facts because I loved the taiga drama). In that one series, you could see how she progressed from being a care-free lower branch Samurai family's daughter to basically the highest-ranked lady of the Samurai at that point of time.

Seriously, Miyazaki Aoi has portrayed a vast range of characters. When I heard the news (I was searching for Solanin on Facebook for fun, and found its fanclub XD) I literally squealed in excitement. I don't usually do that, okay, but I did then. Agh, don't ask me why I love her so much, at this stage, I don't even know why anymore, I just know that I do. :D

Okay, I think it's way too long already. Sorry. :/

Dreams come true?

Am I supposed to be glad that my exams are over now?

Actually, for some reason, I already felt liberated a few days ago, even though I know I have one more exam. That might explain why I can't concentrate on Econs since then.

After exams, I went straight to Empire for the Study in UK exhibition with my parents. I think that was when I started to feel depressed all over again. The course I want are all graphic-related. Unfortunately for me, I don't take Art for A levels, and most of the Unis require that. One even suggested I take 'Fashion Marketing' if I'm still interested to do the Arts course. The best reply I could give was a forced smile before I said "Thank you" and went away.

Then, we went to this Scholarships Department booth. My mum and the guy talked about scholarships, and it made me feel like the chances of me taking that course became thinner. After my mum told him my A Levels subjects, Physics, Maths and Econs, he immediately suggested me to take up Accounting, or Engineering or whatever. Apparently, my subjects are "very strong" and those courses would fit me well. I wanted to tear up in laughter at that point. My subjects may be strong, but that doesn't mean I'm not weak in them. I'm just not cut out to be in the subjects I took up, and I only realised this once I got into PU2.

Honestly, throughout the year, most of the time, in class, my thoughts are "what am I doing here?" Not to mention that scholarships require at least 240 tariff points and I'm not even anywhere near the confidence to even have a C in my A Levels. Sometimes, I wish I was as brave as those characters in the movies and make a difference for myself, but that's not how it works in the real life. Or maybe I'm just a coward. God knows what.

For now, I'm just going to have fun with Photoshop for as long as I can, because as of now, I feel like I'm on the right path to become one of those drones who, in 20 years time, might think about how she wished she made the right choice during that one period in her lifetime, which she could have, if not for the many restrictions in reality.

Dreams come true?

Only when you got the right qualifications to even be considered, baby.

Bullshit.

I have faith in you.

I haven't really been following on Ayu this past few weeks. I still go to the forum, but mainly to the Fan Works section only. Anyway, while I was there again today, it turns out her new single's cover is out.

It it totally gorgeous, and way, way, and I mean waaaaay better than her recent pictures. I've been having low expectations on her covers lately, which is probably why I am actually really impressed with this one. My last favourite cover from her was Blue Bird, and that was a single from 3-4 years ago. After that, her singles covers were gradually getting worse. I'm not sure if it's the airbrushing, or the poses, her facial expression, maybe all of them.

It all started when Kazuyoshi Shimomura (some fans have lovingly dubbed him Kazuyoshit Shitmomura) shot her Mirrorcle World cover. No, actually he also shot her A BEST 2 covers before, but those were too horrible and I couldn't be bothered to actually save them and show them here.

Some actually like the cover, but I don't. I just don't. Not really much of a reason. ARMPIT POSE WOOHOO. First time I saw it, I was like, "Oh. Bleh." The cover was forgettable to me (the songs on it still rock though). I was hoping for a more rockin' cover, because the Mirrorcle WOrld the song is awesome rock. Sure, the B-side was a rock ballad, but seriously? Anyone who doesn't know how the song sounds like would just assume that it's a ballad single.



And then, eight months later, her new single, Days/GREEN is released. I was hoping for a good cover. Good here means that's it's nice for me to play around in Photoshop with, beautiful enough to display on my cupboard if I ever plan on buying it, and also also good so that I don't cringe in horror every time it pops up in my music player. It's a good thing that there were four versions, so at least one cover would be gorgeous. Here I am, showing you two of the covers, the worst two, as a matter of fact. The other two didn't fare that much better, but seriously. Days/GREEN cd-only (left) is the worst. Dead eyes, weird mouth, protruding forehead. The position of all her facial features look distorted. Instead of butterflies, she now has flowers in her hair. This is a winter single, so why use flowers? Doesn't that normally represent spring? I'm not expecting any stereotypical winter covers, but...eh. I just don't like the covers.

Next up, Rule/Sparkle in February 2009. Rule was used as the world-wide theme song for the live adaptation of Dragon Ball, called Dragon Ball Evolution (wtf). I never watched the movie, but I expected it to suck when Hollywood decided on the all-white cast, except for Master Yoshi, I think. I dunno, I dun care. Thank goodness the song is really powerful on its own. I lovelove Rule, but not so much the cover. When we saw the making of pictures, we thought it would be reminiscent of her 2003 Because of You PV, but we were far off. The hair is so messy, the facial expression tried too hard at "FIERCE". I like the colours though, when almost every one else doesn't. Ayu herself is a fan of Dragon Ball, and I guess she was trying to imitate Bulma's "sense of fashion". But the poses of the CD-only versions, ah mai gad.

You got the colours right, Ayu.

She announced her next album will be released just a month after Rule/Sparkle, NEXT LEVEL. I don't know why, but I was expecting a different cover, something unique, something new to correspond with its title. Ayumi Hamasaki, going up the next level sort of feel, you know. I guess, we sort of got the 'new and different'. Kids, I am here to warn you, be careful what you with for. You might end up with an unrecognisable woman with bushy hair, dishwasher gloves (which by the way, you can't see here, also have frickin' nails on them. I know you're the nail queen, Ayu, but seriously, sparkly nails on rubber gloves?!) and some sort of multi-coloured dress. Yeah. Weird. Not to mention the continuation of weird poses she did.

Oh, my back.

Sometimes, you gotta wonder, how many dead, innocent squirrels are probably stuck in her hair, strangled? None, actually, there's no reason for squirrels to be there. But imagine that hair-- Okay, stop.

By the time her next single was announced, there was no hope left for me. Sunrise/Sunset, two songs with similar arrangements, one a summer pop, the other one a summer ballad. Your typical Ayu summer cheer crowd song, and this time she also included her dancers' vocals for the chorus (including Shuya, teehee) So yeah, again, good songs, bad covers. Unfortunately, bad doesn't really describe it. Ayu totally hit rock bottom with this one. Introducing, Sunrise/Sunset cover, drum rolls please.

OH HAI, I AM AYUMI.

Noooo, really? LIES, YOU IMPOSTOR D:

AAAGGHHH, ZE HORROR. STOP GLARING AT ME AYUUUU

Lets repost the You Were.../BALLAD cover.

Ah, splendid.

Been a while, eh?

Yo.

Exams have started. I know this is weird, I'm pretty much un-hiatus-ing myself when the exams just started. My "hiatus" started waaaay before the exams anyway. (Last post in June?! Hahahaa.)

I was blog-hopping today, and finally landed here.

I tried to avoid Photoshop, but I still ended up opening it at least once a week anyway.

I tried to avoid the internet, but when I wake up, the first thing I automatically do is go online anyway.

I don't know what I'm doing here, and I bet anyone who used to read this blog don't go here anymore, but I just had a sudden impulse to post, and say hi to my abandoned, spider-webbed blog.

I want a new layout already.

This is obviously very belated, and I assume everyone has stopped celebrating by now, but since it's still Syawal, SELAMAT HARI RAYA, MAAF ZAHIR & BATIN.

Shadow of the day

Today, my dad woke me up, and his first words were unusual. They were:

"Michael Jackson is dead."

Now, what was I supposed to feel at 6 AM in the morning?

Ah, must be a dream.

Wasn't the best reaction ever, but what did you expect? It's not like I was much of a fan anyway, so the impact wasn't that great. But the fact that another great name in the entertainment industry is gone, well that kind of sucks.

Another star passed away on the same day. Farah Fawcette, one of the original Charlie's Angels, after a long battle of anal cancer.

*sigh*

And the nice men in white coats came along.

Hey guys.

The neighbours are having a blast with their karaoke, and here I am weeping, begging them to stop. Not that they'll listen, because they're so fcking loud. And this neighbour I'm talking about is not next door, more like, 3 houses down the road. As if the music isn't loud enough, the "singers" just have to scream at the top of their lungs? What the hell do they want? For Simon to hear? AGH.

I actually have a few things to talk about, like, my dad, and my trip to Jakarta. But it's gonna take time, and procrastinating is what I do.

For now, check out this commercial. I don't usually embed stuff, so you must check this out. Hilarious it is, but it leans more towards disturbing, for me.

EDIT: Embedding it stretched my page =___= Here's a link. Still, roflmao.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LQpRQh2KSQ

"Put it in me, Scott."

Shuya is his neeeemu!

Shuya at Arena Tour 2009 after-concert party

It's Shuya's birthday today! Yay! Happy birthday, Shuya!

It's his 30th birthday, and it makes me feel so wrong for liking him, now that he's gone to another dimension. XD

I'm going to spam this post with pictures of him, which I have collected from various sources. Just a select few though

Shuya at Shanghai Airport


Shuya in bus, in Taiwan


Shuya with Ayu during last Asia Tour 2008 concert in Taipei's after-party


Shuya during a rehearsal, with Ayu

Tired yet?

I'm not. :D

Shuya has appeared in so many of Ayu's productions, both lives and PVs. To date, he has been involved in 10 lives, which includes 5 Countdown lives, and 3 Japan-wide tours and 2 Asia-wide tours (which is basically Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Beijing and Shanghai only, boo)

Shuya has so many nicknames nowadays. Shuya, Shu-ya, Shuuya, Shuuchan, Shuchi. "Shu" is the only constant. There's so many rumours going around him, and he is ONLY a dancer. The most popular one among Ayu's dancers, no doubt, but yeah. Some rumours says that he's Ayu's secret lover, but people who denied it spreads more rumours like saying he's gay, or that he's a playboy, and stuff. He suits the playboy look more than the others though. XD Whatever, I still ogle over him. He's so far away, so why bother with his actual life. I'm just going to fantasise my dream Shuya. lol, so wrong in so many ways.

I find this GIf very hilarious and adorable at the same time. I'm not really a big fan of Maro, but he somehow emits a "younger brother" aura here as he tries to get Shuya's attention, and then gets pushed away.

Some other Shuya GIFs :P

And the rest, more pictures, this time from PVs.

Shuya in 'Marionette'

Shuya in 'Days'


From L-R: Zin, Ryoji, Subaru, Shuya, Maro, Gomi
Asia Tour 2008 'Depend on You' special screen

Shuya in 'Rule', cool Tiger tattoo!

Some say Shuya reminds them of Kakashi in this ninja outfit *not a naruto fan*

This post is brought to you by, HopeLess Productions.

By the way, I didn't feel like mentioning this, but I'm going to Jakarta tomorrow! I wonder what's in store for me...

nakite mo ii?

Exams ended two days ago, my overall feeling is, bleh. Idk. tlttai.

I'm getting back into J-dramas right now. Been browsing through mysoju for random ones. I've only finished one, First Kiss, starring Inoue Mao.

I guess, I was in a really mushy mood when I chose that series. And hmm, quite a mushy and touching story line as well. Basically, Inoue Mao plays a girl with a heart condition and will be having a surgery that she may not survive. She decided to spend her last two months in Japan with a brother she hasn't met for 10 years. With her condition, knowing that she has a very short lifespan, she was sceptical of love and relationships, so her brother decides to help and encourage her to fall in love.

And fall in love she did, with a very pretty doctor at that. It was so cute, you know. I guess, since I've been into tragic and criminal dramas before this, I find this typical boy-girl dates with no twists very refreshing.

I teared up at the end of almost every episode, with the brother-sister relationship really so sweet <3

The doctor himself is very pretty too. XD So I decided to look him up in other dramas, but then I felt he looked TOO pretty, so I stopped. Haha, and I moved on to others.

Still looking, haven't got a permanent one to watch yet! D:

On monmonday nom.

I cancelled my PCDL order. I don't want chinese hardsubs okay. The new, re-made batch would start coming in a few weeks, so I would either just wait for that or um, not buy it at all? Not going to care. I do feel like ordering something else, but I don't know what. Hah, ordering for the sake of ordering. T_T

Anyway, I feel like uploading some GIFs to put at the side of my blog, what do you think? Does it lag? :P

SHUYAAAA

He looks so cool here, I love it. Haven't mentioned him in a while, huh? Shuya looks cool there.

oliayu. Rolie Olie Polie.

I just ordered Ayumi Hamasaki's PREMIUM COUNTDOWN LIVE 2008-2009 and OLIVIA's A Little Pain.

Am I crazy or what? I mean, I want these, but I didn't actually want it THAT badly.

It's probably the exam stress. I tend to spend alot of money when I'm stressed. Usually, it would be on food. Like, I'd spend $8 in the school canteen after an exam, but I wouldn't really eat them. I don't know man. I'm such a stingy person, but I become financially generous when I get frustrated. Wtf right.

I need to see a therapist.

I wanted these two for aesthetic reasons. :P I really like both their covers. I also feel like I should own at least one of Olivia's releases, and this is one old release. lol. I really like the song, especially it being in NANA.

As for Ayu, it's for the whole shebang. The colours attract me. It looks so shiny too. I never planned to buy this you know, I already downloaded the TV version few months ago, but dammit, I just had to go and order it.



I just read some unconfirmed news that the HK version of PCDL (the one I ordered) has chinese hardsubs in it. OMG nooo. I'd be happy if I were a chinese/can read chinese, but noooo. Then they say the HK press is going to be remade with optional subtitles and better quality. Please please please hope that I will get this one.

BLEACH<3

I bought a few BLEACH posters from Chong Hock yesterday. I haven't thought of where to put it yet. I just bought it on a whim.

My dad was just really financially generous yesterday. XD

Ah, haven't gone to Chong Hock for quite a while, you know. Last time I bought something there was like, years ago. I guess I was kinda turned off about the fact that not only did they sell pirated copies of DVDs, some of the anime DVDs they sold were actually free fansubs downloaded from the internet! I know this because I used to download those things too, lol. But yeah. I could've gotten it for free. That kinda annoyed me.

But I guess, when you're in a tough (and boring) situation, and don't really care what state the economy is in as of that moment, Chong Hock's right there for you. Cheap, cheap stuff.

I do admit that, although I haven't bought anything from Chong Hock in quite awhile, I always linger in front of their shop window, drooling at the BLEACH figurines. Oh lovely BLEACH figurines. I want to buy them. D:

I haven't really read much nowadays, (last chapter I read was chapter 250ish, and I used to be VERY updated with BLEACH) but somewhere in my heart, I'm still a BLEACH fan girl.

Besides, I still check YouTube to see if there are any updates on subbed versions of BLEACH Rock Musical, unfortunately, they're still at No Clouds In The Blue Moon, which I watched like, last year, probably?

Night at the Museum, read all about it.

I had to babysit my younger brother and sister today. I had to bring them to the cinema because they wanted to watch Night at The Museum 2 so badly or else they'll weep, sob, stomp, whine, weep, sob, stomp and shit. My parents weren't available due to their other responsibilities in life, and as I was the 3rd oldest in the household - supposedly maturity comes with age - next to my parents, I was given the honour.

We went to the cinema, just the three of us.

I have never been to a cinema without adult supervision, unless I'm with my friends. Because then I don't have to be the one talking at the ticket counter, asking for tickets. I've never done that in my whole life. And today, I had to do it, with no guidance, no practice. *wheeze*

Being in Brunei, going to movies seems to be an integral part of a teenager's social life because we barely have anything else here, and seeing as I have little to no experience in that, can you calculate the amount of social life I have?

Okay, it wasn't that bad. I went through with it. We went in. Found our seats. Sat down. Watched movie. Ate popcorn. Drank Coca Cola. Finished movie. Went home.

By the way, I went home $8 richer. At least it all ended gooood.

Anyway, Night at the Museum 2 is okay. I've never had the chance to watch the first part, but since the sequel's storyline isn't related to the first one, other than the characters, it's okay. It got me thinking though. If this was not a family adventure comedy, I wonder what genre it would have gone into?

Psychological thriller?

Probably some reference to agalmatophilia? (For some of you who are too lazy to search what it means, Wiki defines it as attraction to dolls/statues/mannequins)

Larry Daley kissed a frickin' mannequin. (when she came alive, of course, but the fact that she's not exactly ALIVE is pretty disturbing). And well, hey. He also talks and made friends with the rest of the mannequins.

Here's my twisted, darker version of the movie. And it's just that one night in the museum anymore. It's got some cliches in it, and please, forgive my tenses. I jump between past and present since primary school English class, and I haven't changed since.

After thinking that he got used to having the museum exhibits come to live, he hangs out alot with them. Even accidentally talking to them in the day, but the rest would just brush it off. He would talk to them every night, have fun with Miss. Mannequin together with the rest until dawn breaks. One morning, the boss finds out that the night guard is sleeping with the museum exhibits, cuddling with a mannequin. Larry would then explain to no avail. He'll get fired. He'll go insane. Then he'll be sent to a sanitorium. After some time, he will figure a way to escape because he can't help but miss his darling mannequin. He will then steal (kidnap?) her and run away together.

In an abandoned cabin deep inside the woods, he'll love her, worship her, hoping for her to come back alive. But by then, as she is not in any way near the Egyptian tablet which brings the exhibits alive, she will remain as a mannequin. He will go even crazier, calling her a liar, screaming at her, but she can not react. For breaking his heart, he will break her into pieces. Her head, however, remained intact. He will soon realise this, and brings the head near him, sobbing, apologising. He cleans the head, keeping it close to him at all times, trying to redeem his sins. He starts getting worse.

He sees blood oozing out from every part of the broken pieces. Too guilty to remove them, he just whimpers in the corner, holding on the head, apologising again and again. The owner of the cabin, a hunter, arrives to see that the door lock was damaged. He entered cautiously with his rifle. He sees the whimpering man who by then threw the head at him, and exclaims, "I killed her! I killed her!" The hunter, surprised by the head, backed off and rushed out to get his phone to call the police, thinking a real murder had happened. Caught offguard, his rifle was snatched away and Larry proceeds to shoot the head multiple times.

"STOP TALKING! STOP TALKING!"

Authorities came, and Larry will once again greet the white cushioned walls, wearing the safe straitjacket that had his name stitched into it, as he insists that he needs to get the voices out of his mind by scratching and clawing his head.

"Welcome back home, Larry," says an orderly who happened to be passing by.




Damn, a psychological drama movie with amalgatophilia would sound so cool.

Ah tu, ah tri, ah 1 2 3!

I have just spent two hours organising my Economics file. I have to say, I feel pretty accomplished in some ways.

However, due to my lack of experience in doing school-related work *cough* I became exhausted by the end of it, so I didn't feel like finishing my maths homework. I'm sorry, I'll try to do better next time. I'm still adjusting to the disciplined, motivated, hard-working student lifestyle, though I'm not sure how long that's going to last. Wish me luck, people!




...OMG, my parents have started discussing about jobs (for me!) and how I should get get good grades, because it's that little piece of result slip that they'll be looking at. Oh, where did all the years of my sweet childhood go?

One sheep, two sheep, three sheep~

I feel better. :D

See, I told you it was just that one day.

Yeah. It could happen tomorrow too. And the next day.

It's a never-ending cycle.

I'm still so worked up about World Embryo though, This time, not about the protagonist, but the victims who succumbed to the virus and turned into monsters called Kanshu. The thing is, when they get infected, they will die without realising it and the Kanshu will take over their bodies. The worst part? There's nothing left of the victims when they are killed. No body, not even memories of them will remain. People will forget their existence as if they were never there.

The bright side is that it prevents the people related to the infected from suffering from their loss. But it's still so...ah. There's that one scene where a girl was sitting in the park, waiting for someone, looking for someone, until she completely forgot what is it she was searching. And that was her grandfather, who was slowly erased from her memory as he transformed into a Kanshu.

Oh, woe is me. Haha. I'm talking about a MANGA with a sci-fi storyline. I'm sorry.

I need to get back to listening to NEXT LEVEL. I'm startin to like rollin'!

CRACKED.

OMG YOHEI DIED. WHY? WHY MUST HE DIE? HE WAS SO HOT TOO.

*wipe tears away* Sorry, I just finished reading World Embryo, volume 2. And the real story just started too. Yohei dieeed.

I also just bought Ouran High vol. 13, there were some tear-jerking scenes too. Particularly scenes involving Tamaki and Hikaru (seperately). Which is weird, because Ouran is supposed to cheer me up with all the funny stuff they manage to do in it, but not this one.

Sorry for being so emotional. I seem to be giving away a few tears a little too easy these days.

Heck, I even cracked during the parents-teachers meet. Just a little, but I did. And thinking about that particular conversation with my teacher itself is making me feel like breaking it again. Not only that, she thinks me and her, we need a longer talk. We're gonna need boxes of tissue, I bet.

Ah, I don't know. I can't stop thinking about World Embryo right now. I feel like I'm in the same situation as the protagonist. Sure, I'm not being infected by some parasite, nor did I lose anyone important to me, but that feeling of helplessness, wanting to just give up and let it all out, and then comes all these people trying to reach out for him, yeah. Especially his feeling of doubt whether to take their hand or not, whether to trust them to lead him to the right path, whether them saving him will be for better or for worse.

His fear of guilt that may arise from their disappointment when they realise their effort to help him may not work at all.

Wait, that's one's just me. I think. I'm not so sure anymore.

I just hope the reason I'm feeling so emo (literally) is because it's THAT TIME OF THE MONTH. Ask me how I'm feeling any other time, and I might have been able to at least show a fake smile and say I'm fine.

I'm scared of going to school tomorrow, facing all those teachers again. I'm really scared. I'm in my "What have I done all this while" phase, and I don't know what to do.

I still feel so unstable.

the NEXT LEVEL is here.

LONG AYU-FILLED POST. You may only scroll through, if not interested. butdon'tleavemealone. Where's my 'roflmao' icon?! D:

So, remember when I mentioned that I ordered Hamasaki Ayumi's latest album, NEXT LEVEL, last few weeks? It's finally here! I just asked my friend casually about it, and turns out it was already here since last Saturday, and she forgot to tell me. Right. I was wondering whether it got lost in the mail or something all this time, and she had the heart to forget. T___T

Anyway, it's here. It's was released last month, and download links were floating all over AHS, and the temptation to just download was soooo great. But, hey, I managed to pull through and survived today. XD

There seems to be a mix up in the order. The version I wanted was the CD+DVD, and the first press special is a blue CD casing. Somehow, when it arrived, it was the 2CD+DVD version! Which means I have to pay an extra $10 for it. The good thing about the that version is it is a limited first press only, and I have an extra CD which contains the audio from her Premium CDL 2008-2009. The BAD thing is, the first press special is a PINK case! Oh the horrorz to have it displayed on my cd shelf. And I paid $79.40 for THAT. D:

I watched it once I got home. I watched her PVs that I didn't download. I have to say...boring. I think the only one I really liked was 'Sparkle'. It's actually a pretty weird PV, with an excessively cute Ayu in a gaudy dress complete with the puffy sleeves, and an excessively sexy Ayu in a red catsuit. (The making showed that she was actually having a hard time walking in it, lol)

Here are a few screencaps (credits to eneabba.net) of excessively cute Ayu and excessively sexy Ayu.

It was obviously a parody of some sort. Ayu was even laughing at herself in the making. It's true that in real life Ayu has both these images, cute and sexy, just not to the extreme as shown in the PV, lol. The song itself is actually leaning more towards the sexy type, so the cutesy Ayu singing it didn't really make much sense. XD

The other two PVs that I haven't watch was NEXT LEVEL and Curtain Call. Both songs are the soothing type, but the PVs are pretty monotonous, lack of variety of scenes and clothes. NEXT LEVEL just features her driving a convertible on a highway, although she looks really pretty there! Curtain Call is reminiscent of Pride, "a diva in a PV" storyline but she looks less glamarous here, even walking barefooted across the hollywood set. It was even her own suggestion to walk without shoes, and cut half the gown off so that people can see. It originally had a mermaid tail, and ow without it, she looks so simple, which I think is the look she was going for.

From the making:

Final cut:

That's it with the DVD. And now, the songs. I don't feel like talking about any except for these two songs, which made me totally forgot about the rest and they are identity and LOVE 'n' HATE.

Both songs' music and arrangement were done by Yuta Nakano, and this guy is amazing at mixing orchestra and rock, evident in talkin' 2 myself (which I happen to love as well) and LOVE 'n' HATE especially. You should just listen to it, I love'em.

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 「0」

(hahahaha) NoNo NoNo
(hahahaha) NoNo NoNo

I knew from the start
That it's really impossible
Even so ...

I only wated to dream
That my dream would come true
Just for a moment

* I took the courage to approach you
Because I wanted to be loved by you
But I stayed as far as I could from you
Because I didn't want to be disliked by you

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 「0」

It must be true
That you should not behave
Unlike yourself

I'm surprised myself
That this wound seems deeper
Than I thought

** Just because I love you
It would be the best way for me to disappear
If I could hate you
I would rather be better off

The counting voice for the start and the end
Sounds heartlessly
The answer you gave
Is too tender to me
It makes me sad and feel pain

* (repeat)
** (repeat)

(hahahaha) NoNo NoNo
(hahahaha) NoNo NoNo

1 2 3 4 「3」「2」「1」「0」

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Hey, you there
Who take the trouble to share time and space with someone else
To cover for your loneliness
With a neutral conversation or something
But have become even lonelier

However skillfully you may decorate yourself
You can't match the truth
You know?

To confront directly in spite of my bitter experinces
Is my ID, ID, ID, ID

It's not important how I'm viewed
What I need is how I should be

Hey, you there
Who just force your opinion on someone else
Saying that you are thinking of him or something
With a look that you have done something good
Just for your self-satisfaction

However skillfully you may decorate yourself
Your real intention is easily seen
Don't you notice?

Not to be able to say yes cleverly to everything
Is my ID, ID, ID, ID

*It's not important how I want to be thought of
What I want to keep is how I want to be

What I need is how I should be
What I want to keep is how I want to be

(translation credits: masa)

As a conclusion (woohoo), the album is pretty mediocre, but a few songs definitely saved it.

I won't be ordering anymore stuff as of now. I really need to get my consumer rationalism to come back to me, now that this is over. Haha. I plan, any other things that I want, I will only buy if I see it by chance. (Which rarely happens in Brunei, so lets hope I could go to Singapore again! XD)