shock shock horror!

my English is apalling. when i speak, there are additional syllables floating around. when i write, my grammar is horrible - yesterday was today is happening. i hate this.

it would be a great time to start reading. these are the unread books that have been gathering dust, some for more than 2 years...

tuesdays with morrie (1/4 through)

design of everyday things (1/3)

midnight's children

the alchemist (5 pages)

im sure there are a couple more, i don;t remember them so they're not significant enough to mention. let's see how this experiment would help my English. ugh.

Who is Peter Walsh?

I am Peter Walsh. I am also Clarissa and Sally. I could be Septimus, but I would rather not be.

Mrs. Dalloway was not an easy book to read. At a maximum rate of 10 pages a day, it is finally back on the bookshelf. It took me a while to digest, fluttering through the characters' minds, confused as a reader, this book deserves (or needs) seconds. Apart from admiring the language, the wordiness and the characters (whom i think combine to form an alter ego of me) these are some excerpts that stuck.

"Rigid, the skeleton of habit alone upholds the human frame."

"What does a brain matter,.... when compared with the heart?"

"What is this terror? what is this ecstacy? he thought to himself. What is it that fills me with extraordinary excitement?

It is Clarissa he said.

For there she was."

from Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

the reading list

For someone who loves to write, I hardly ever read. My excuse is even stupider--I do not read, because if the book is good, it becomes an obsession until i read the last page. This has happened too many times. But well, some things can't be helped. It's all in the name of knowledge.

So as the news goes, I have a reading list. It is quite broad (and it also depends on the whims and fancies of the library), but nonetheless, it is a list. Let me get into the details of what brought me back to this literate state. It was none other than good marketing. I saw a lime green copy of The Arabian Nights at Kinokuniya. It was the perfect lime green. It even matched my yoga pants. I had to buy the book and I had to buy The Arabian Nights, simply because i hadn't read it yet. To my surprise, it was cheap. 5 $ for a penguin paperback. I realised it was made from recycled paper (and still it can outshine the non recycled copies. lime green was a brilliant marketing idea!) and that is why it was cheaper. To come back to the point, I have started sourcing for books to read at my local library. I'd rather not read books without a recommendation for it could be a complete waste of time. Besides, I usually have no patience for that kind of crap.

Anyway, everytime I tick off one title on my list, I'll post my personal comments and responses on [ human space ]. The first of many more to come....

au revoir,
amelie

paper clips

Yes, paper clips. The rather inconspicuous, mundane, but essential piece of stationery are given their moment of glory because they are little pieces that stick your life(or your hair)together. Temporarily and when you need it the most.

Why have i decided to elaborate on this uncelebrated article? Why not its Son the Stapler, or Mr. Punch. For one, Son the Stapler, got itself into a sticky, jello situation at the office, and well if you ask me, it is sort of overweight and capitalist. Getting back to the point, I think that the paper clip offers its user endless options and opportunities to express creativity. Apart from clasping sheets of bleached white paper together, they have been known to open locks, poke balloons, as a tiny screw driver, earrings, hair clips... the list goes on.

But, I think this little fella, conceived in the early 1900s has stood the test of time. It has survived the stapler. Apart from serving its modest function, it can also be an expression of art or creativity. Its endless combinations, twisted in groups or alone can create startling effects, almost like snowflakes. http://paperclipart.com/

For those of you who might wonder, I don't sell paperclips, but I am fascinated by its versatility and in a way it reminds me of an individual. Twisted inside, functional in the larger sense of the word, and more importantly, waiting to unwind and unleash its creativity and uniqueness. We ultimately are all paperclips, each one trying to invent a new purpose in our twisted little lives, or simply to unwind, and reach our full potential.

For more paperclip inspiration, please watch the next season of The Office. I'm sure you will be satisfied.

Similarly, getting away from an overdrawn metaphor, I am trying to unwind from this intricately layered and twisted life. I am venturing on the possibilities and they seem exciting.

Store design and merchandising gels together my favorite disciplines; design, marketing and advertising. Simply put, it is a form of spatial advertising that inculcates a brands identity subtly, and most permanently. To get into the details of designing stores would be sacrilegious (cos then I wouldn't have a job!) When my brains have more matter and motivation, I will be posting reviews and perspectives on stores and shops in Singapore. Please visit www.insee.blogspot.com to be in the loop.

Before I bugger off, the paperclips put my hair together, and effectively put me back in perspective of life and the challenges it offers us to grow and learn. What have they done for you?

suckao it all up!

Mood of the moment: satisfying feeling of contentment
Song that i can't get rid of: fluorescent adolescent
Movie on my mind: zodiac
Newest infatuation: arctic monkeys
Secretly craving: another suckao
Wish i were..."here and now".

The theory of relativity had something to do with energy and speed, and in the mess of all that comes the notion of time travel. Whether it really exists or not is nothing that we can define. I, for one, have visited the future in a dreamlike state. The earth is filled with electric storms and the sky is a perpetually orange. Maybe it was just a subconscious dream, or maybe it was real. I will never really know until it happens.

But in certain instances, such situations are normal. Time travel, i mean. Especially in your imagination. The time travellers wife is a book that carries your emotions across the space-time and life. In a world of fiction, science follows different rules, and impossible is nothing. (quoting Adidas here). There are no words to describe this amazing story, how it captures your heart, and your imagination. The idea is not totally original since movies such as Lake House (and the original Korean movie that it was adapted from) have been in the market for some time. However, the story in itself is so gripping that it becomes your world. Their love becomes yours. Their pain is your pain.

The downside with all good stories is that there is someone out there waiting to make it into a film. Somehow i picture a very emotional and artistic movie to create the right atmosphere for the characters. I have a feeling that this mite not be the case for the movie that is fore casted to be out in 2008. Eric Bana doesn't look my version of Henry, but I'm sure he has the acting skills to pull it off. My concern lies with Rachel McAdam's and her ability to portray Clare as the pivotal character in the story. The novel revolves around Clare, if her character is not up to the mark, the entire story crumbles. Taking a look at McAdam's movie portfolio I'm not too confident of her ability to follow through. But you never know, this mite be her time to shine. For the sake of the book, i hope it is.

Enough banter about non-existent universes. Here and now is what matters. Dinner, for example, with awesome Indian food. And the highlight of the day...? Max Brenner. It's absobloominglutely chocolate heaven. I'm definitely going back there to spend my hard earned $!(Although the Iranian restaurant is next on my list. )

Of all unfortunate events, today i forgot to take my camera. So i don't have fancy pics of the suckao or the cheesecake with cucumber slices or the aphrodisiac that some people decided to try. But nonetheless, there is evidence out there for u to see.

Last week i watched Priceless. It was a good movie, but it didn't quite cut it for me. Amelie still presides over my personality and my heart. Oh my, a freakish coincidence, La Noiyee is playing in the background! I'm contemplating changing the template of this site since i can hardly answer all the questions i ask myself at the start!

Okay...
Hm mm..
So now I've been rendered speechless. My brain is knocking on my skull to inform my body that i need to hit the snooze button. Too much food on my plate today (quoting Jason Mraz) makes me a sleepy, happy girl.

Au revoir
Amelie.