I’m finding (well, they’re mainly finding me) so many old classmates on Facebook — I’m especially tickled that one of my old friends, Angela, still loves Gleaming the Cube. Back in the day, we were the tomboys of the bunch, skateboarding like fiends. There’s also Rachel and Jianyan (Karen, Pene, the other Angela, and Jean I’ve been in touch with, so they don’t really get a mention — haha).
Wow. Join the Singapore network and the SNGS group (class of 1992), y’all. So far Angela and I have been saying good morning to all the things (yes,things) Mrs Hwang made us say good morning to every Monday and Wednesday.
I must admit, I was kind of sceptical when this book was pressed into my hands with the instruction to read it. It’s kind of a cult hit, there are rabid fans, and rabid fans of novels tend to remind me of Neuromancer, which I so did not get into.
However, I was pleasantly surprised. I must say it did take me a while to get into it, but when I was on the bus this morning, racing to the end of the novel, I was definitely in the mood known as ‘completely absorbed’, the kind where I could walk into a wall, cut my arm, and not notice it (yes, I was 11 at the time when this first happened). The plotline’s been described loads of times. Eric Sanderson wakes up with almost complete amnesia. He finds a note to himself and this starts a chain of events that involve a dead lover, a new hot chick named Scout, Dr. Trey Fidorous, conceptual fish (these are the baddies), and a very cool cat named Ian.
Bloggers Consider Forming Labor Union: this, to me, seems like a really bad idea. The whole point of bloogs, I thought, was its freewheeling, anarchist nature. I guess with the number of people attempting to earn a living off them, turning them into mainstream media (as such), it’s only natural for them to want it to have benefits like a regular job.
Which sucks for the rest of us. Does this mean that those who do not follow the ‘rules’ (that will / have inevitably emerge(d)) will be ostracised as ‘unprofessional’ in future?
Mainly from BBC today, and some bleedingly obvious comments.
Singapore Bans Gay Rights Forum. Aiyah. Singapore, why do you embarrass us expats so? How can we explain to others why Singapore is so uptight we can’t even talk about OTHER countries’ stance on homosexuality?
Hardcore sunbathers ‘know risks’. I take it sunbathers who deliberately get burned for a tan and know it increases their risk of skin cancer will be using private healthcare when they are diagnosed, and won’t be expecting the NHS (and the taxpayer) to pick up the tab? Ha! As fucking if.
Post-mortem on airport attack man. Will they be calling witnesses who will confirm the man set himself on fire, and shock horror, burned? He then went to hospital with 90% burns and subsequently died. It’s not exactly a covert Russian-style poisoning. So he’s an idiot, but how he died isn’t exactly news.
Firms withdraw BNP Facebook ads. I’m not really interested in the Facebook news (although Facebook should surely be able to control what ads go where), but it brought up a discussion over how sites like YouTube should censor content, while I would argue that these sites are simply tools (discussed previously), and while they should be attentive to what gets posted — especially if there is a criminality issue involved — it is not their responsibility. The responsibility lies with the parents (if the posters are children) and those who upload the content. The more consequences for bad behaviour are divorced from the occurrence of that behaviour (i.e. someone else being forced to take the blame), the worse the problem will be.
congratulated oneself on finding a fur-lined hooded parka at the Next outlet for £3 (!!)
had a couple of drinks at a local pub (and met one of Neil’s childhood friends — we are both left-handed and have the loose ligament, freaky bendy-back elbows)
had some late-night garlic bread and pizza at Brian and Carene’s (and heard about some colleague who sent a naked dancing video of herself to a boyfriend, but they fell out the next day, and it was all over the Internet the next week — I even saw the video — what teenager thinks of doing these things? I must be getting old)
Sliced and marinaded some chicken for dinner (you know I’m useless in the kitchen when this is news)
hung wallpaper (well, lining paper) with Rhona — first time ever for both of us, we did a decent job, IMHO
helped Neil make dinner (and fried an egg, sunny side up, to add to my rice — reminds me of lunches at Ports in China)
(the dinner was very good, although Neil tried to take all the credit — the eejit)
ate a strange (but typically Chinese-style) luncheon meat bun at my cousin’s
You know this when even squirrels (I’m looking at your dad, Kristen — I think he’s driven squirrels to adapt) are stealing Kinder Surprises FOR THE TOY INSIDE.
Unless Neil is a shape-shifter, of course. That would be less weird.
Background: before the elections in May, the Scottish Executive had plans to close two A&E departments. The SNP promised to reverse those plans if they came to power, and they did, so they have.
Now it emerges (why it wasn’t bleeding obvious is a mystery) that in reversing the decision, money that had been made available for other medical services (cancer care and local casualty centres, i.e. triage) is now in doubt.
Nicola Sturgeon’s response? No, as HEALTH SECRETARY I make the FINAL DECISIONS and I say that all the services should be available. You guys sort how how the fuck you’re going to print the money needed. Because I say so, I’M THE HEALTH SECRETARY.
No, I am not a snob nor stuck up. I’m quiet. I don’t talk. If it wasn’t for Neil, it’s very unlikely I would go out to be sociable at all (I have no problem going out and being alone in a crowd). This does not mean I think I’m better than you — it means I’m extremely introverted.
Australian research published last year found left-handed people can think quicker when carrying out tasks such as playing computer games or playing sport.
And French researchers concluded that being left-handed could be an advantage in hand-to-hand combat.
However, being left-handed has also been linked to a greater risk of some diseases, and to having an accident.
Five out of seven people in my department are left-handed, by the way. The right-handers feels left out. Heehee.