20 August 2006 12:03 p.m. i've always been disappointed with real epiphanies. i wait in vain for the wondrous glow of self-realisation (which is almost always certainly accompanied by the unblocking of various chi channels, which leads to unlimited power, which results in a person becoming the master of the universe; but i'd be very happy right now mastering my own world at the moment).
weirded out
self gratification doesn't pay the broadband bill and it most certainly won't finance your horrible fan girl/boyism. in fact, we should just go out there and do something nasty to someone we dislike because you still wind up feeling pleased with yourself, after all.
i'm kidding.
why do we do anything at all? why do the free INXS concert tickets go to the people who know hardly anything about the band? what do mountain biking carnivals have to do with loud music? can the commentator use any phrase other than "control freak" to describe Rafael Nadal?
all aboard the YouTube train! fun if you can get them to load. do i gain entrance to the World Fangirl Club with these? Carlos Moya in a towel with Rafael Nadal in a hotel room - in which they insult one another's mother but it's okay because they're friends (this is what guys do, right?).
also, a photoshoot that allows him to practice some cussing in english.
15 August 2006 9:08 p.m.didn't ask for that either
i don't consider myself a battle-weary road warrior by any stretch of imagination (especially mine!), but when a car actually stopped to give way to the car in front of mine, and then let me out, all i did for three seconds was gape at the dudes, who were driving the sort of beat-up old car you avoid just in case you get the blame if its bumper falls off.
as mum would say, "nice looking fellas."
mum's actual cynical words were, "did their engine die?"
so, um, now i'm off to look at that young and hunky Spaniard because he's young and hunky like that. yeah. i guess that means i'm a perv then.
14 August 2006 12:41 p.m.
because you didn't ask for it
nevermind that he has biceps the size of my head, legs the size of tree trunks; a cute tan line, and a girlfriend who thinks he's a lifebuoy (current? former? whatevs), Rafael Nadal is obviously an elf with an oral fixation on metal.
(pictures from Tenis: Rafael Nadal - Onet.pl Blog and Quarto Arbitro respectively)
13 August 2006 2:20 p.m.distillation
then: The body of a dead enemy always smells sweet. (Titus Flavius Vespasian)
now: BITE ME, MOFO.
this car has been faithfully parked outside my house for 2 or 3 sundays in a row. today, it was the only car on the road, the other drivers having learnt their lesson last week.
self-defeating
yesterday, i decided to treat myself to a nice lunch, seeing as how i've been quite thrifty (does this mean i'm getting old? who cares?). so, i went to Kenny Rogers' Roasters (KRR). doh.
i also found this article.
i remember when the first outlet opened in 1993 and how excited people were about it - "OMG chicken that isn't deep fried like KFC! HEALTHY."
i remember how wondrous it was (for me) to see the chicken slowly turning on a spit over a REAL FIRE, and how the taste leapt out fiercely at you. KFC never used citrus as marinade! this was bright and new and different. it was GOOD.
i didn't like the muffins because they were too sweet, but i loved the macaroni and cheese. i loved their toxic colour of radioactive cheddar (i like saying that, i think i'll keep it), how the sauce was gooey and sticky and i thought i wouldn't mind smearing it on my face and wallowing in it and... erm, yeah.
thus armed with these fond memories, i was sat at a table for one (asserting my independence, can i get any niftier?), admiring the plush decor and conveniently forgetting the experience i had last year at another KRR outlet where Enfant Terrible and i had a dispirited meal and vowed never to return.
as it were, reality was heralded by a soggy vanilla muffin. i should have known it was a sign when they phased out their signature corn muffins. the food came and it was warm, not steaming hot. the mac and cheese was anemic, the mashed potato was gluey, and coleslaw was from the factory that turns out coleslaw for fast food outlets all over the country (no change there then) and the chicken was dismal and bland. sob.
did i go wrong by ordering a quarter-chicken meal?
well, the staff greetings were interesting. it's like when you go to a japanese restaurant and the staff are supposed to bellow "irrashaimasen!" (welcome!) but you wind up hearing garble instead, e.g. "eeee-shai!". in this case, "welcome to Kenny Rogers' Roasters!" was somehow transformed into "LOLOLOLO."
maybe they were saying "hellohellohello" eh.
additionally, the cost one KRR meal can pay for two KFC meals, which are tastier, so hurray for oil!
audience participatory bit - what do you think has changed the most in the past 10 years? no, saying the prime minister had black hair when he came into office doesn't count.
04 August 2006 5:11 p.m.like a poke in the eye
two of the undergrads are chatting as they work on their honours projects. i am seated at another bench, eavesdropping on them while planning my own work (a rare but real occurrence).
Fred: eh, where's Carol?
Wendy: at the mall.
Fred: the mall? did she finish her project without telling us?!
Wendy: she went to buy Susan's birthday present la!
Fred: ooh, right. say, how old will Susan be this year?
Wendy: 22, like us.
Fred: oh, right (Fred's not the fastest car on the block). eh, Stephanie (another classmate) is older, right?
Wendy: ya, she's 24.
Fred: oh my god, 24! that's old!
me (on the wrong side of 24): 0_o
well, they do say that eavesdroppers never hear anything good.
