comfort in solidarity

while this semester has been scholastically difficult, it is a nice throwback to yesteryear. the past 4 months have been demanding, with heavy emphasis on the things that were stressed on when i was 9, the 3 Ms - membaca, menulis, mengira. poli sci reading coming out of my ears, then writing paper after paper for pol and bible, not to mention calculus homework and lab. but i have found comfort in the meals in the dining hall after secluding ourselves with work and then discussing our progress over the dinner table. just like at dunman. we would complain about not having done anything, about falling asleep over textbooks, and wildly procrastinating by doing other seemingly interesting things.
for now, i'm off to see sondre lerche and seduce him with my sexy body.

phil-a-delphiaaa

another whirlwind trip to philadelphia which included:

- a reprise of the s club dance
- laughter and remembrance
- another phone number

presby memory

i've had recurring aspirations to write down memories i have about my childhood and singapore.

during jc1, when the vj scholars lived at presby, we would cycle to school. this was no ordinary sight, mind you. picture a swarm of foreign scholars zooming down the east coast parkway in beige uniforms - girls with skirts - and carrying a sackful of books and notes on our backs. i remember repeatedly waking up late, rushing to the ramshackle bathroom, and zooming out the door forgoing my milo and mass cooked maggi mee.
you could always tell a scholar from an ordinary singaporean boy by the streaks of black grease on our pant legs.

wee lee is not here

i've been accused of being aloof and distant so many times in america that i've come to accept it about myself. but really, should i? i don't remember being secretive, veiling my thoughts with an emotionless exterior.
i received a letter from a wonderful galpal yesterday. she's spending the semester in guatemala and i first glanced over the letter, glad to have received a handwritten note and smiling at old memories. then i reread it and it was so beautiful. she says:

in chapter 14 of the novel you'll be introduced as such: wee lee was born on a night of a full moon, with his eyes open. he did not look first at his mother but out the window and it was that glace if mystery that carrier him throughout his days. that full moon glance that could draw oceans near to the shore, or by ignoring their wave, make them retreat into the sea.

oh, what am i doing? what am i missing out on?

alternatives

if i wasn't an i-banker wannabe, i'd be a PoweRGirl wannabe.

elation!

caller: hi, this is ____ from arcadia university and i just wanted to let you know that you have been accepted into our london internship program.
weelee: wow, thank you.
wee lee's heart: fuck! thank you! fuck yeah! omg omg omg omg! yeah! ahhhhhhh!
wee lee: this is very good news. thank you. (in composed dignified tone)
caller: we will be sending you our admission packet and will be in contact with you shortly.

llllllllllllllooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnddddddddddoooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnn!!!

very much alive but exceedingly distracted from the task at hand.

my kudos and support!

"The lovely Asian actors of Mr. Miyagi’s Theatre Company used to play all the typecast Asian roles on Seinfeld and Sex and the City, till they went and made their own off-Broadway show. We knew Asians were industrious. Go see the fruit of their labor—Sides: The Fear is Real—at P.S.122 tonight." - Gawker

Incidentally, I was watching Will & Grace last night and was entirely put off by a scene where a Chinese take-out man complains in halting English about only being left with mustard at Stan's will reading.

hokkien translation

while my peers endeavor to translate portions of latin and greek text into hermeneutically sound english, i venture eastward, specifically peninsula malaya, inhabited by hokkien lang.

Excerpt:

Kia lit wa jin eng. Boh mi kia chor. Wa jio kwee eh peng you chut ki kia kia.

Ah Lun : “Tiong kim eh cha bo si beh chio oh.”

Limpeh : “Anoh. Khua liao sibeh stim ah.”

Ah Peng : “Wah! Lu khua! Sa tiam sa tiam!”

Limpeh : *Khua chiu bioh* “Jit zhun si li tiam ler.”

Ah Peng : “Lai lek shen la”

Ah Lun : “Wah. Ani tua liap eh.”

Ah Peng : “Yah. Yi anneh sueh jiak chor anneh tua liap eh neh chor mik.”

Ah Lun : “Bien buey gu ni mah!”

Limpeh : “Oooi!! Oooi!! Ah Lun!! Mai lau chooi nua!!”

Translation:

Today I was very free. There was nothing to do. I asked my friends to hang out.

Ah Lun: Girls these days are very pretty, eh.

Limpeh: Yes. I get very excited by them.

Ah Peng: Check her out. Three o' clock, three o' clock (direction).

Limpeh: (looks at watch) It's only one o' clock.

Ah Peng: I mean the direction.

Ah Lun: That's a very big piece (referring to her breasts)

Ah Peng: Yes. She's small in stature, what does she need big breasts for?

Ah Lun: So she doesn't have to buy milk!

Limpeh: Hey! Stop drooling!

and this to read

a biography/review combo here

to watch: sepet

A company has ten machines that produce gold coins. One of the machines is producing coins that are a gram light. How do you tell which machine is making the defective coins with only one weighing?

a day in the life of an investment banking associate