I bought a new pair of shades.

I like it. It's huge and black, and protects me not only from the sun but from almost everyone.

It's like a protective shield, keeping bad karma away from me.

Or at least I hope.

I'm bringing it to Hanoi with me. A tourist in shades, nothing strange about that.


**

Speaking of bad karma, I've enough of it.

Somebody buy me a four-leaved clover, give me crystals or something, I need more than a healthy dose of good karma to shower upon me.

I slipped and fell right on my bum today. At home.

I went out to shop for my trip and busted one of my toes against a table corner in the store.

Maybe it could have been worse.

I could have slipped and fractured a bone, busted my toe and contracted tetanus.

Positive thinking at work, everyone.


**


Did I say that I'd also bought a thin scarf from Topshop just for the fun of it?

It's striped, and very Brit-looking, and no prizes for guessing, but I'm bringing it to Hanoi with me.

Now all I have to do is to figure out a plot to keep my travel-mates with me until the last day of my existence in Vietnam. *scratches chin*


**


I won't talk about the last few weeks, or how muted I've become.

I won't talk about that night when my tear-ducts took ownership and ruled over me after a few cups of wine.

I won't talk about the extent of damage that I've potentially done to my reputation in the workplace as a result of the above.

I won't talk about what a loser I've become. To people who know me intimately enough. To myself, even.

I won't talk about me. Or you. No I won't.

You think about the lessons and you never learn from them.

You think about the lessons again and how you never ever learn from them.

I was like this 2 years ago and I'm still like this now. Today.

I'm really beginning to believe that God did not make me for love.

If that's the case, I should seriously start acquainting myself with self-sufficiency. Who knows, we might even fall in love.

After too many horrid lessons from the teacher of life, I'm just going to bow my head, quieten myself and submit to the dictatorship of whoever is the mastermind behind all this.

There will be no more dreams.

I'm officially dead today.

The night sky was beautiful tonight.

It was red.

But the sudden bolts of lightning marred its beauty.

An element of fear resides in us deeply. Like thunder pulsing through the bleeding backdrop of one's heart.

If you find yourself not understanding my words, you probably aren't supposed to.


**


Last count: 5 times

I'm still not satisfied.


**


This may sound cheesy but it gave me an opportunity to see who genuinely cared about me. And what I liked.

There's that close girlfriend who managed to snitch a free movie poster from Balaclava. For me.

There's that other girlfriend who surprised me by offering to give me a free copy of the film (pirated, of course, shhh). For me.

There's everyone else whom I'd dragged, coerced, forced, coaxed, whatever, to watch the film with me.

And then there's you who first downloaded the entire soundtrack onto your mp3 player, transferred it to my computer, and then gave me a burnt CD of the exact same soundtrack. Just for me.

When you think of moments like these, there's a small part in you that tries to make you believe you're not alone. I guess not.

It saddens me when people cannot appreciate what goes behind a film.

Or worse, they fail to even realise what is it that truly goes behind one.

Sure, they know to appreciate the blockbuster hits, like Harry Potter and LOTR, they ooh and ahh over the strange, mystical creatures and take delight in them, they are intrigued and are tickled by characters like Gollum (LOTR) and Jar Jar Binks (Star Wars).

Sure, you watch a film for its entertainment value, and so long as the storyline is decent, characters believable, throw in some awesome special effects and a kickass soundtrack, it's almost guaranteed to be a sure hit.

But one shouldn't stop at just that, should we?

It speaks greatly of a generation that cannot go beyond the superficialities.

When I tell people what a superb film Tim Burton's Corpse Bride is, they look at me as if I had gone bananas.

And then they start to say, "But it's just a cartoon." (insert rolling of eyes)

I can't believe the sheer idiocy of these people.

Does being classified a "cartoon" or any other genre has anything to do with whether or not a film is good?

And for your info, Ms/Mr Pompous-I'm-So-Smart-I-Can't-Believe-I'm-Having-A-Conversation-About-A-Cartoon, I won't even classify that film as a cartoon, the furthest I'll go is to say "animation".

And not just any off-the-mill animation, it's Stop-Motion, for chrissakes. Does that word even mean anything to you, you thick skull?

Don't people ever know what they're watching these days?

It's such an insult to the producers, really.

They judge a film by a)how much they enjoy it, b)how big a hit it is, and c)what genre of film it falls into.

Doesn't anyone care what goes behind the scenes anymore?

I say that Tim Burton's Corpse Bride is such a great film not only because it has a moving storyline, unique and interesting characters, some great songs by Danny Elfman, but more more so because it's stop-motion and they did such a great job of it.

They did it so well that most, if not everyone, was fooled into thinking it is a "normal" animation film, where everything is computer-generated.

No no No.

It's Stop-Motion, meaning the producers had to create the figures from scratch (think clay figures but with alot more work and effect), not only figures but everything the characters use, knives, forks, spoons, chairs, tables and piano, everything.

And then how do they actually film the characters?

By moving them for one frame, stopping it there, and taking the frame as if they were taking a picture (i.e. stop-motion).

For every smallest movement (twitch of an eye, quiver of a lip, whatever), they have to actually change the figure, hold it there and take the frame. This goes on for repeated times to capture actual movements. That's how strenuous it is.

If you were thinking of creating the characters from pixels on a computer, you are terribly off the track.

So until you are able to appreciate something for what it's truly worth, it's better to shut your trap lest you come off looking like a fool. It's even worse when you haven't even seen it.

I can't believe I've not dedicated a single post on this blog to this little man.

When it suddenly occurred to me just, I mentally chided myself.

How could I have not? To date!

And to think that he is the single best thing that has happened to me and my family. To date! I can't stress that enough!!

Before you think that I've found the love of my life, let me just clarify that you're not exactly far off the mark.

He is the love of my life, at the moment. As well as my family's.

I can't think of another living being who is more deserving of our common love than him.

I'm very proud when I hold him in my arms. Like all others before him, he is the living emblem that something wonderful can happen to us - lesser beings who are no longer capable of making this world a better place, no longer capable of anything sovereign, or good, or pure, other than to shower him and all others like him with all of our love.

He is our pride and joy. Really. I mean it.

And later this month, he will be turning one.

What gift can you possibly give to someone who deserves the world? Pray tell.

I want him to remain one forever. The magic loses its sparkle and lustre when children grow up, bearing only a semblance of their former true self.

Happy Birthday in advance, little nephew. May you always find this world a beautiful place.

I'm getting hyped up about my upcoming trip to Vietnam.

Was watching the news the other day and they reported cases of avian flu in Vietnam. Which totally freaked me out. My colleagues have been bugging me about getting that flu jab before I head off to Hanoi in Dec.

Which I will, really.

That aside, I got down to getting ready for my trip today.

Which included scouring for winter wear - jackets, long johns, turtlenecks, gloves, ski caps, the like. I didn't have to spend a single cent, thanks to an old friend who provided me with all these and more.

I'm not sure about the gloves and ski caps, but I'm sure the jackets and long johns will come in handy.

NOBODY believes me when I tell them that it will be cold in Hanoi come Dec.

According to my travel guide, day temperatures are about 18 degrees, and night temperatures can fall below 10.

Since we will also be going to the mountainous areas, it's safe to say that temperatures will drop below that.

And to top it all off, my dear friend also lent me her $350 backpack which I will be using for the trip instead of a trolley bag.

I'm almost ready.

Personally, I kinda like lugging the backpack around, I think it looks pretty a'ight on me. Heheh.

I've never been so hyped up about travelling as I've been this year, I guess it comes with the cash.

In fact, I'm already thinking of planning for a Bangkok trip in either Jan or Feb next year with my colleague.

We'll see.