I was wildly attracted by this poster at Level 1 of Lido when it must have first made its appearance about 3 months ago. First, there is an attractive woman in her svelte figure. Second, there is an element of pink in the poster. Third, it talks about dresses! And all 27 of them, what’s there to not like about it? I am a sucker for beautiful women in beautiful dresses with a secret fantasy that one day, i will join the club. So when there was a sneak preview for it on the 19th, i immediately bought tickets. I am even willing to overlook the exorbitant cab fees that I am saddled. I want instant gratification. Show me her dresses, all of them.

It’s not like i have not already guessed how the storyline is going to be like. “Always a bridesmaid, never the bride” How can they let the heroine of the movie suffer such an ignominious fate especially when she is attractive with a winning smile? It’s not like she looks like the Bride of Chucky to begin with (no pun intended, although Katherine Heigl did, in fact, star the horror sequel of the Bride of Chucky in 1998). And so appears the hero in the form of a journalist, Kevin Doyle, who does write-ups on married couples under the pseudonym “Malcolm Doyle” whom Jane (Heigl) thinks spews the most beautiful stuff.

So yadahyadah, the pair meets under extraordinary circumstances, crosses paths regularly with crossfire because the heroine is always always careless enough to leave behind evidences of her whereabouts, in this case a red Filofax which records all the wedding engagements Jane will attend. The plot develops in such a manner that Jane’s younger sister turns up, falls in love with the boss Jane has been carrying a torch for all along while leaving Jane to nurse her wounds by herself with some help from Kevin.

And of course, Jane’s impression of Kevin got better because of a shared moment and then there will always always come one incident that puts their relationship to a test. Jane will get very angry and Kevin will be very sorry. Kevin goes after Jane and finally …………….

The Good News – They Got Married.

You ask me what’s not to like about this movie? It has a happily everafter ending that all women like to see. But where are the 27 dresses all these while? With the exception of 2 dresses she wore for a prolonged period of time during the start of the movie, the other 25 dresses are kept in the closet with their frills sticking out and each only granted a brief 5 seconds to show off their glory. Oh purleeeease! I paid to see more of those dresses!

There are some experiences in life we think we can live without and are fine without. It does not have to be a mind-blowing experience like a bungee jump. It could be just a simple, little joy. Of course when you do not know how it feels, you do not miss it but once you savour the sweetness of it (literally, in my case), you ask yourself “What have I been missing out all my life?”

The above mini pancakes are results of KW’s strong and steady hands as he swirled and beat the concoction into submission. Sublime.

Su was also good enough to have us over at her place for a potluck dinner and a card session. You can see she advocates a healthy living by providing the fresh broccoli and sweet carrots above. And poor Long, better luck next time!

The curling spirals from a lit cigarette end provided a smoky screen between her and the ceaseless flowing traffic of vehicles on her left, subtly shielding her vision so that she could concentrate on the thick yellow book held in her hands. It even provided a right type of atmosphere as she read about Kirby, the firefighter.

The moment the lit cigarette came to the end of its short lifespan and the smoky screen, unceremoniously dispersed by the harsh elements of earth, she laid down her book, her tired eyes begging for a break. The word ‘fire’ which echoed the storyline formed the residue as her senses filtered back into reality. Looking around, if she was entranced by what she saw, she was consumed by it. There is the spaghetti top worn by a girl walking down the street, the dresses that hung expectantly on discount racks with big bold letters that formed the word ‘SALE’,  the nails belonging to the lady at the next table, the scarf which was draped carelessly over a tall Caucasian male, the paper bag, the ‘No Entry’ sign across the road, the canvas canopies put up to shield the rain at a fast food restaurant, the ….. and the list could go on.

Her world had just changed after a story. She was seeing red everywhere, if only in different shades. She could feel it. Her blood pulsing in her veins. The red.

Picture taken at the East Coast Park, Singapore.

I would have thought that the carousel with all its gaudy colours and fascinating designs would bring many back to a time in their childhood days, a remembrance of the carefree. Imagine my surprise when I tried to look for a poem that would describe my poignant feelings for the carousel and the exuberation of riding on one and I found none!

Instead, the carousel has been described as “smashing through your innocence, as you hold onto a past time” and associated with negativity – “Lost life and lost lovelines encircle camp on the carousel of karma and shattered dreams.” And so i attempted to write one that spoke my feelings.

The carousel went round and round
playing the hypnotic tune that drove me wild.
I forgot about the world outside
when on these colourful horses I ride.
The wind whispered urgently in my ear,
“You are going too fast my dear!”
But what I couldn’t see, i had no fear.
Then the music stopped and died,
the lights dimmed and refused to light.
Still I stood watching and refused to leave,
here I promise myself another day, another time, another moment like this.

I want to visit all the notable carousels in the world.

Captured from Kai’s balcony on the 4th floor as they trudged through the deserted basketball court.

There are things to do while waiting for the appearance of an occasional late friend – pop by the nearest supermarket for fun! I like grocery shopping and usually end up with unused items or food just to fill up the sad-looking trolley. That day, i was determined not to spend a single cent on groceries since the friday before, my colleagues and i spent an obscene amount totalling to SGD 270 for the New Year’s Eve dinner held at Kai’s place which included a SGD 50 rock melon from Japan (oh the pain!). And to sidetrack, for those who are curious about how a 50 dollars rock melon tastes like, it tasted like a rock melon soaked in an entire packet of SIS sugar. Yes, it is that sweet. I am contented with a SGD 2 rock melon really. I am more of the “siew dai” type of person anyway.

Back to the grocery shopping, I decided to hang out at the pasta corner, learning the names and differentiating the types of pasta. So there is angel hair, spaghetti, penne, linguini, fusilli, conchiglie, fettuccine, macaroni and ravioli. There you have it! A good way of passing some excess time without spending anything and learning something to keep for a lifetime.

In a bid to keep my reading interest going, i went on a mini spree to procure white, lined craft notebooks from Muji and at the shop, i could not resist the urge for a beautiful charcoal, fabric-lined notebook. When i was still in school, i had a habit of copying lovely quotes off books and compiling them into a mini collection of well-used phrases. Reading them again brought back a sense of nostalgia and a desire that this habit should be continued as long as i should live.

* siew dai is hainanese and it means “less milk”. For me, it means less sweet.

I am happily silly, a quality i find endearing for the holders of the “happily silly” title do not attempt to hide beneath the veneer of sophistication and efficiency, leaving them operating like machines on a roll.

I am into the second day of a new year and i think i am adopting a right attitude to start it with. I hope to love bravely, smile happily, speak sincerely, gym religiously, sleep sufficiently, work conscientiously, spend carefully and it sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? But one shouldn’t have to deliberately go all the way out to make those happen. They should have been put in practice ever since we started to think for ourselves.

Perhaps I am also feeling exceptionally optimistic since some of the favourite bands i despair of ever seeing are going to be in town in March for the Mosaic Music Festival. I made plans to spend some of my March evenings with Broken Social Scene, The Bird and the Bee, Sondre Lerche and Yanokami. I feel rather talkative but the other topics will have to wait.

Have a good day.