Vietnam! Here I come!
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! I will be spending 9 days in Vietnam in TWO days time! Woohoo!
Simply cannot wait… Been working too hard, so I am really looking forward to this trip. It has been a while since I last visited a developing country. It had been 7 years since I last backpacked Thailand, which I covered north and central Thailand in two weeks.
This time round, I will be backpacking Vietnam from south to north in only 9 days. Yup… I know it sounds kinda tight but 9 days are all I can afford to take. Nonetheless, I will make the best out of it. ;)
Have you ever watched the movie, The Lover? It was directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, with Tony Leong and Jane March as the lead actor and actress respectively. It was set in Vietnam, in the late 1950s, about a 15 year-old french girl having a scandalous affair with a wealthy 30-something businessman. The relationship was tragic, yet romantic. Erotic, yet ugly. Manipulative, yet heart-breaking. Innocent yet complicated.
And that was my impression of Vietnam too…
But I think that is about to change.
Monday, September 19, 2005
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Spiritual versus Material
Met up with 3 friends for dinner yesterday since one of them is leaving for further studies in a few days’ time. As usual, I had fun chatting with them as the 3 of them are very different from my usual circle of friends.
Firstly, they are musicians. And very fine ones. No other friends of mine are as into music as the 3 of them. They can go on and on about guitars, B-flats and Gs…
Secondly, they read books. Fictions. Some of my other friends do not even read the papers!
Thirdly, they think and reflect about life. Although sometimes a bit too much! ;p
All in all, I always feel that I learn quite a lot from these 3 guys. Be it about music, politics or philosophy.
Our conversations differ from the usual bitching of unreasonable colleagues or bosses, comparing of year-end bonus or bragging of one’s long working hours.
I feel that I always see another aspect of life whenever I spend some time with those 3 guys. And it hits me again that life is not always about money, money and more money.
Yup… will miss our coffee sessions. Although one will be away for a while, I will always still look forward to meeting up again! But this time, there will only be 3 of us! (with me included!)
Met up with 3 friends for dinner yesterday since one of them is leaving for further studies in a few days’ time. As usual, I had fun chatting with them as the 3 of them are very different from my usual circle of friends.
Firstly, they are musicians. And very fine ones. No other friends of mine are as into music as the 3 of them. They can go on and on about guitars, B-flats and Gs…
Secondly, they read books. Fictions. Some of my other friends do not even read the papers!
Thirdly, they think and reflect about life. Although sometimes a bit too much! ;p
All in all, I always feel that I learn quite a lot from these 3 guys. Be it about music, politics or philosophy.
Our conversations differ from the usual bitching of unreasonable colleagues or bosses, comparing of year-end bonus or bragging of one’s long working hours.
I feel that I always see another aspect of life whenever I spend some time with those 3 guys. And it hits me again that life is not always about money, money and more money.
Yup… will miss our coffee sessions. Although one will be away for a while, I will always still look forward to meeting up again! But this time, there will only be 3 of us! (with me included!)
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Monkeying around…
I went down to Union last night for my weekly dosage of salsa action and had a good time catching up with some friends, as well as some bootie shaking.
The best thing about hanging out at Union is, of course dancing salsa (duh…) and to people watch. Well, you may say that you can people watch everywhere. Be it shopping centers, on the streets, bars, pubs and even the ah peks at coffee shops can be rather interesting to watch at times.
However, the crème de la crème of all people-watching venues must be a salsa bar. This is because you will get to see all kinds of actions and expressions on the dance floor.
You will get the beautiful and hot dancers who sizzle the dance floor with their hot, hot, hot moves.
You will get the beginners who are really clumsy yet oh-so-eager to get their moves right that your heart just go out to them.
But the most amusing of all, are the dancers who think they are doing all the right moves, swaying their bodies here and there, with a I-am-such-a-hot-dancer-and-everyone-is-watching-me look plastered all over their faces.
Well, they are right on one thing… everyone is indeed looking at them, not because they look great when they dance. But it’s because they look so damn funny!
Last night, I saw this girl dancing in a really weird fashion. Her dance steps are technically correct but her weight transfer is a little out of rhythm and best of all… she was flicking her hair and moving her hands on her hip in a oh-im-so-sexy gesture, but it turned out all so wrong.
She reminded me of a monkey.
Somehow, it just looked really bad on the dance floor. Not the kind of bad where the beginners usually display – stepping on toes, unsure of what to do, stressed and constipated look on their face.
It was the kind of bad where intermediate dancers who thought they are experts… and I was just so amused with that.
Yup… I am being a bitch here again… laughing at the way others dance. However, I do want to stress a point:
PLEASE LOOK INTO THE MIRROR WHEN YOU DANCE.
You may think that you are dancing like Shakira but in reality, you are looking more like Shaggy.
Everyone wants to look good on the dance floor. So the “looking at mirror” rule applies to all who are really into dancing. Be it salsa, tango, ballet or jazz. To be AWARE of how you look when you are executing your moves is the most fundamental thing.
I am no dancing expert but I am sharing a tip here. I just want girls to look glamorous and good on the dance floor. Guys can look like gorillas for all I care. But GIRLS… please. We have to look good at all times. Walking, standing, sitting and most importantly, dancing.
I went down to Union last night for my weekly dosage of salsa action and had a good time catching up with some friends, as well as some bootie shaking.
The best thing about hanging out at Union is, of course dancing salsa (duh…) and to people watch. Well, you may say that you can people watch everywhere. Be it shopping centers, on the streets, bars, pubs and even the ah peks at coffee shops can be rather interesting to watch at times.
However, the crème de la crème of all people-watching venues must be a salsa bar. This is because you will get to see all kinds of actions and expressions on the dance floor.
You will get the beautiful and hot dancers who sizzle the dance floor with their hot, hot, hot moves.
You will get the beginners who are really clumsy yet oh-so-eager to get their moves right that your heart just go out to them.
But the most amusing of all, are the dancers who think they are doing all the right moves, swaying their bodies here and there, with a I-am-such-a-hot-dancer-and-everyone-is-watching-me look plastered all over their faces.
Well, they are right on one thing… everyone is indeed looking at them, not because they look great when they dance. But it’s because they look so damn funny!
Last night, I saw this girl dancing in a really weird fashion. Her dance steps are technically correct but her weight transfer is a little out of rhythm and best of all… she was flicking her hair and moving her hands on her hip in a oh-im-so-sexy gesture, but it turned out all so wrong.
She reminded me of a monkey.
Somehow, it just looked really bad on the dance floor. Not the kind of bad where the beginners usually display – stepping on toes, unsure of what to do, stressed and constipated look on their face.
It was the kind of bad where intermediate dancers who thought they are experts… and I was just so amused with that.
Yup… I am being a bitch here again… laughing at the way others dance. However, I do want to stress a point:
PLEASE LOOK INTO THE MIRROR WHEN YOU DANCE.
You may think that you are dancing like Shakira but in reality, you are looking more like Shaggy.
Everyone wants to look good on the dance floor. So the “looking at mirror” rule applies to all who are really into dancing. Be it salsa, tango, ballet or jazz. To be AWARE of how you look when you are executing your moves is the most fundamental thing.
I am no dancing expert but I am sharing a tip here. I just want girls to look glamorous and good on the dance floor. Guys can look like gorillas for all I care. But GIRLS… please. We have to look good at all times. Walking, standing, sitting and most importantly, dancing.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Too Tight!
OK… for the next few months, my blog will be dedicated to my current love-hate obsession, running.
Yup… I have started on my training and have been running about 6 km per training. Although my last run at MacRitchie nearly killed me because I could not breathe.
At the beginning of the run, I was just wondering why was I feeling breathless when I barely ran more than 200 meters? However, I ignored my discomfort and continued my run.
Mistake.
By the time, I hit 4 km, I was feeling dizzy and began to see stars… and it was then I realized something was really wrong with me since I was jogging at a very comfortable pace. WHY COULDN’T I BREATHE???
Then it hit me.
My bra.
It was too damn tight! I was wearing a new sports bra, which I just bought recently in a sale. It was a size too small but I bought it anyway, thinking that sports bra is meant to be tight right?
Wrong. Tight clothing will definitely affect one’s ability to breathe. Especially when one is exercising! No wonder women in the Victorian Era were fainting like nobody’s business! How can anyone breathe wearing those corsets ???
Anyway, I had to walk the remaining 2 km or so till I reached the toilet to change out of my “corset”.
Served me right for being a cheapskate. Now… what am I supposed to do with that small sports bra of mine?
Guess I will donate to any fellow runner who’s able to squeeze into it! Guys are welcome!
~94 days to marathon!
OK… for the next few months, my blog will be dedicated to my current love-hate obsession, running.
Yup… I have started on my training and have been running about 6 km per training. Although my last run at MacRitchie nearly killed me because I could not breathe.
At the beginning of the run, I was just wondering why was I feeling breathless when I barely ran more than 200 meters? However, I ignored my discomfort and continued my run.
Mistake.
By the time, I hit 4 km, I was feeling dizzy and began to see stars… and it was then I realized something was really wrong with me since I was jogging at a very comfortable pace. WHY COULDN’T I BREATHE???
Then it hit me.
My bra.
It was too damn tight! I was wearing a new sports bra, which I just bought recently in a sale. It was a size too small but I bought it anyway, thinking that sports bra is meant to be tight right?
Wrong. Tight clothing will definitely affect one’s ability to breathe. Especially when one is exercising! No wonder women in the Victorian Era were fainting like nobody’s business! How can anyone breathe wearing those corsets ???
Anyway, I had to walk the remaining 2 km or so till I reached the toilet to change out of my “corset”.
Served me right for being a cheapskate. Now… what am I supposed to do with that small sports bra of mine?
Guess I will donate to any fellow runner who’s able to squeeze into it! Guys are welcome!
~94 days to marathon!
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