Before I knew it, the couple who lives on the floor above me were having a screaming match. I couldn’t make out the words, but the volume gave a distinct feeling as to what was going on. The woman was the most upset, screaming to her heart’s content, while the male was only shouting; that was, until there was one loud bang, to which I assumed that he was responsible. Then came the sobs. The woman cried something awful up until about half four in the morning – mixed in with some screaming, now and again. 

While listening to all of this, I couldn’t help but feel like my insides were churning. After all, what does one do in that situation? When I came out to ask my family if they heard it, they gave a negative reply and made me realise that my room was possibly one of the few places you could hear the scene, as they had mostly confined it to one spot. So what do you do? I definitely couldn’t sleep after that, tossing and turning for most of the night, still remembering the piercing sound of the woman’s cry. 

I apologise for starting with such a negative subject, but one of the worst things in the world to remember is that it’s such a sh*t place to live in. So what I’m trying to do is cheer you up with a few short things. Sadly, the previous night has made me insanely tired, so dedicating myself to one concept may prove to become difficult.

Halloween. What fun times. I had never really celebrated Halloween much back in the UK, since the areas around me were slightly dodgy, but before this one I have had two experiences of Halloween.

1) When I was about four, I went trick or treating as Snow White. A man dressed as a wolf informed me that he wanted to eat me. It was safe to say I was scarred for a number of years. 
2) Last year, I went to discovery bay as a chavvy school girl. OK, so I wore my old uniform and scraped my hair back. But you never know how much effort people are going to put into their costumes. After seeing other peoples, I felt quite bad for my lack of effort.

So this year, I decided to go all out.  Although the aim was to be a circus curator with a little ‘va va voom’, I ended up being a show girl. And I was quite excited about it. I found some fish net stockings with the garters and all and even had a little hat I had picked up with in Italy. When I tried it on in front of the mirror, I was quite pleased with myself. I even did the make up and everything. And, most importantly, all problem areas had been dealt with, so I felt I could walk around in piece. That was, until I realised the fatal flaw:

I would have to wear this in public.

Showing most of your thigh may not cause any problems when you’re modelling your outfit in front of the mirror, but it’s quite different when you have to walk past your family and lots of little children to get to your taxi. Fortunately, my great uncle John – who is now in his eighties – is a gordie and didn’t take any offence in it.  And the children seemed fine to. It was the parents, at this point. It took a lot of waiting until one of them got the courage to be civil with me and not give that look that says, ‘You better not encourage my six-year-old to have intercourse,’ which I just think ruins the whole spirit of this holiday. You’re supposed to encourage everyone to have intercourse. I mean, are you… right? 

So the night went on, and some positive encouragement helped me stay pretty much on balance – despite the one person I knew who laughed. While momentarily offended, I recalled the fact that I laugh at him after almost every time we meet, so I went on. On the experience, I once again learnt that none of you actually plan to live, by the amounts of candy you received. And apparently most of the candy was gone by the time we actually began. Shocker!

On my final note on Halloween, I’m looking for a Hermione Granger for next year. I’ve got a Harry, a role I’ve taken on, and a Ron, but the final people I asked wanted to be Draco and Dumbledore, as opposed to Hermione. If you are interested, don’t speak up since I probably didn’t have you in mind. Just kidding… Perhaps. 

So I actually ended up wanting to round this blog up quite quickly – do forgive me for once again adding length. One more things I want to do though is recommend two songs to you, because I’m pretty much addicted to them. 

1) Heartache Tonight – Michael Bublé
2) Let’s Give Them Something To Talk About – Bonnie Raitt.

Aim For Next Week: Give a hug to someone. Even just hearing that argument made me want to crawl into someone’s arms.  You know how much I want to promote love on this, and today’s no different. 

P.S The man’s begun shouting again, and It’s mid day. Get moving, huggers!

Ah, the plot thickens. 

You attempt to decipher it. Was it a look of desire? Did you choose the wrong outfit? Or, was it just a coincidence, like it was you seeing him/her in the first place, and you’ve become a paranoid loser, locking you and your counterpart into an eye-contact tango that may never cease? 

What, have you never had that? 

I have, and it’s one of the most aggravating experiences on the planet. Never does one feel so vain, and yet so insecure at the same time. And, most of the time, it is just that two poor people have made eye contact by some weird twist of fate. But I suppose that just shows the human brain, doesn’t it? 

Well, I mentioned in my last entry that I would go into that scenario in more detail, and there we go. I would go into even more depth, but that would just turn into more sentimental bullshit. And, while I very much enjoy it, sometimes it may push other people too far. 

So, as you’ve probably not noticed, I’ve actually written this blog in advanced and scheduled it for lift off. That is because today, as you are reading it, and assuming you’re reading it on Sunday 18th October, I’m in Italy. Yes, Italy. Sweet, sweet Italy. The land of culture, the renaissance, religion etc. I also heard they’ll be cute boys and shopping, but this was only mentioned in passing. The point is that this means that I can’t exactly pick out something that I’ve been thinking about over the week, so I decided to do something different instead. Which, apparently, will be fun.

This is just something where you’ll get to know me better. I have this thing, you see, where I connect memories with songs. For the next 10 songs on my iTunes shuffle, I shall place it on here, and tell you a memory to do with it. If I don’t actually have a memory, then I’ll naturally skip. So it’s the next 10 most significant songs. I think. Well here it is:

1. Bubbly – Colbie Caillat: The sci-fi drama, Doctor Who. The first time I heard this song was watching a video a friend sent me of the 9th Doctor and Rose. They’re the most adorable couple. Anyway, this song always reminds me of them, the lighter part of the ‘relationship’ anyway. So that was dorky.

2. What Are You Waiting For? – Gwen Stefani: Being twelve (?) with my sister. My sister found a download site – this was before we had decent internet and the actual ability to find decent download sites – and we got the music video for this. There’s about a nine minute intro to the original one. I remember it was one of the few songs we listened to back then. I wasn’t really able to buy music, and we only got like a few videos on the Windows Media Player. 

3. Sail Away – David Gray: A sentimental one – and you should be honoured that I’m sharing this with you. I had just shared a ride with someone I was very fond of about a year back. I came home practically in delirium, to which my mother kept asking, ‘Why are you so happy?’ and then commanding Molly to ‘get her to tell you why she’s so happy.’ I then strolled into my room and played this song at full blast. There’s nothing like David Gray to feed a longing for love. I told you I going to get the ones with memories. No skipping here.

4. Hey Sexy Lady – Shaggy Ft. Sean Paul: Told you: no skipping. This reminds me of getting ready for a night out. I always found that I’d have to give myself a confidence boost, since you’re never gonna get pulled if you mope around the place. Sooo the result was simple: dance around to ‘sexy’ music. Embarrassing, I know, but it actually works. Nothing gets hips moving more than this genre.

5. A House Is Not A Home – Brook Benton: Lazy Sunday evenings at home with my family when I was younger. This also applies to songs like Two Shots. These are just oldies that my parents would play in the living room, and I usually could still hear it from upstairs. Oddly enough, it got me really interested in old songs. I used to imagine myself singing to the song – yes, it is a man singing, but is that really the point? It always makes me feel cosy, because it reminds me of being younger and happier. Damn it, there’s the sentimental crap again!

6. Sitting On The Dock Of A Bay – Otis Reading: Car drives with my mum. She used to put on Magic FM, and I secretly never minded. As I said in my previous posts, I actually like old songs. I remember this was one of my favourites. I particularly remember this when I went to one of my primary schools – Hampton Court House – because I would be with George, and he would try to whistle at one part. To be fair, I wasn’t any better at it. 

7. Against All Odds – Phil Collins: MOVIE MOMENT! Sorry, but there’s another thing with me and music. I like to day dream, and I often see movie scenarios. In this scene, one member of the romance would be alone in the rain, but the fog will clear after the chorus, and then you see the other one. This would result in a reunion of the two. (AWWWW) 

8. Man I Feel Like A Woman – Shania Twain: Another me and my sister thing when we were younger. For this, we actually attempted to ACT OUT a music video. We’d steal the washing-up gloves from the kitchen (it makes sense in more detail) and dance around the place. I think there may even have been a dance involved, but I’ve forgotten it now. To this day, I still do the head toss when the background voice goes ‘uh!’ in the first verse. 

9. From Paris To Berlin – Infernal: Working on a fake advertisement for ‘D Grade’ in Year 9. I was sitting on the bus ride to a friend’s house from school, and the friend I was sitting next to introduced me to the song. She was v. much into that kind of music. She also introduced me to artists like DJ Boonie, though I think she’s much more into hardcore grime than anything. Still, I remember bopping around the place.

10. Sooner Or Later – Doreen Lundy: MOVIE MOMENT. This would be in a period drama – as it was a song from the 40s. The two main characters would be dancing in the living room alone. This is where one of them realises that they love the other – though the other won’t know it yet. They would move closer, not even thinking about the fact that the guy would have to get shipped off to fight the good fight. 

So you guys have seen a much dorkier side of me. Ah well, enjoy it! x

Aim For Next Week: Make a good memory. It’s discovery week, so MAKE THE MOST OF IT! I’d hate to think of you coming back with regrets and sorrow.

“And then I realise it was in my locker the whole time. FML.”

FML. F…M…L. How I would like to go up to the creator of that website and go, “You know what f*cked up my life? Your bloody acronym.” This is almost as disgraceful as the ‘fail’ stage, though that still goes on, and all. 

But seriously, I don’t get the obsession. Countless of times, people have been criticised for saying ‘lol’, some mocked for ‘omg’ but ‘FML’ seems to be just fine. It’s not even an unique saying, since most of the globe say it now. And I can’t be the only one who feels this way. It’s an amusing site, I’ll give them that, but surely there are others – like myself – who hate how people constantly use it in their everyday lives. And I watch some people and feeling like telling them, “Yes, but not getting your ponytail right the first time isn’t even really an FML moment, is it?” 

It was the same with the ‘fail’ or – god forbid – ‘epic fail’ scenario. I was sitting through the GSIS 40th Celebration ‘ceremony’, when I heard a young kid say that a teacher was a ‘fail’. What I thought was more important to focus on was the fact that if he’s one of the people who can only use these few words to express himself, he would fail a couple of GCSEs. 

I suppose – especially considering my last post – you’ll think I’m some kind of anti-conformist. Not entirely true. I’m not particularly shocking or radical. The most ‘unique’ I get is when I bring a bit of my own culture into Hong Kong world with sayings such as “Get in there”. On that note, if you aren’t British, I would check up how to actually use that phrase. Because without the right context and accent, you sound rather ridiculous. But that’s not my point. My point is that I’m not trying to rally up some kind of rebellion. All I want from people is a little independent thought. I’m an non-FML-sayer, British, swearing, 60s rock n’ roll lover who likes poetry. I’m not ashamed of it. How about YOU? When you say ‘FML’, how do you feel? 

But onto a new topic – since I don’t want to rant all day. The obvious topic to talk about is the long weekend/lantern festival. Obviously, I’m sure many of you are as happy as I am that we got these extra two days. And I felt I’ve used it wisely – in a way.

 With my new-found freedom, I decided to immediately hit the shops. Given the fact that I am now at my richest – which believe me, isn’t that rich – I thought why not. Of course, we were then hit with ‘horrendous’ weather, as some would say. Did that stop me? Never. I came to the conclusion that, since I wasn’t planning on seeing anyone special, I would have some fun. So I packed up my umbrella, and just walked. It was so refreshing, and liberating. While everyone else was scurrying along, I was strolling with my head up high. Even when I walked past someone I had seen in school. OK, that was slightly embarrassing. But I got over it. Especially after the looks I got when I was the only one walking along the open area in front of  IFC; v. amusing. 

Then came the actual day. Repulse beach with hundreds of other strangers, while packed in and attempting to light a candle with no stand unnoticed, and drinking till we pass out, or looking after the ones who have. What could be better? For teenagers, we find the oddest things amusing. I had decided to be interesting and dress in a sort of biker outfit. This caused me to run around the house, searching for a dark lipstick like a mad man. In the end I had to mix it – what I mixed is something I don’t think you want to . Of course, it had completely faded away before I actually MADE it to the beach. Obviously the day turned out to be exactly as expected – and then some. 

Aim For Next Week: Do something spontaneous. Like me and the rain, think about something you’ve been tempted to do, and go for it. Dancing like a loon in your room, say hi to a stranger. Anything! 

Till next week! x

For better quality and more vids, go to: http://www.gatsby.jp/tv/#/index/cm/collection

The third one down on the left column is good.

Kudos to stef for showing me the next one:

 Also been waiting for the Emmy’s “La La La” dance act to come out, here you go:

Tres cool lighting and electronic effects.

Apparently, it’s NFL tradition that a team’s rookie should take the rest of the team out to dinner, and without fail, this is what Larry English did.

Lucky waiter.

Then I stumbled upon this:

“For your average person, getting take-out from your favorite local eatery usually means spending between $25 and $50 for a restaurant prepared meal in the comfort of your own home. Hip-Hop mogul Kanye West put a whole new spin on expensive take-out when he recently ordered a meal for a meeting in New York City. No, he didn’t choose one of the thousands of ethnic options readily available to him in Manhattan, he wanted take-out from Wales.

The Welsh restaurant called British Raj serves Indian cuisine and agreed to deliver the expensive take-out for seven people from Wales to New York City on Wednesday March 7th. West and his cohorts dined on Raj’s cuisine at the after-party for a Snoop Dog concert in London a short time ago. Usually the restaurant delivers to a three-mile radius from its location, with London being close to 150 miles away, West may have gotten the wrong idea about their delivery habits.

Nonetheless, Raj agreed to deliver the meal for a cost of $3,900. This figure was reached by estimating the income of the restaurant for a two day period, the amount of time the executive chef, Kaysor Ahmed will be gone escorting the meal to New York City. The most expensive take-out meal will not be handed over by your average delivery boy. As mentioned before, the executive chef of the restaurant will be totally involved in the delivery by preparing, cooling, shrink-wrapping, and finally packaging the meal in dry ice before flying with it across the Atlantic when he will be constantly monitoring the temperature.

triangular golden greatness

The menu for the most expensive take-out meal includes specially prepared fish, vegetables, chapatti breads, and onion bhajees. This meal would cost about $40 per person to eat in the actual restaurant.” (http://most-expensive.net/)

 And there are 850 million people estimated to be undernourished (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization)…..

 _______________________________________________

On music, I’ve rediscovered a great mix a good Swiss / French friend introduced me to back in Cape Town.

It’s Red Light Paris by Swiss DJ Joachim Garraud and French David Guetta.

“So as you struggle to catch the rhythm with your feet… ask yourself… can you dance to my beat beat beat beat…”