Relentless addiction

Pursuing the fleeting moments that fuel the instant gratification that leaves me empty.

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Under Seige

This post was 2 weeks late:

There I was, catching up on my daily Yahoo news fodder, amidst supernatural sightings and bird-flu scares is this photo-moment of one of the top two political luminaries of the world-stage:

Can I have this dance with you?

The article in question: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/obama-heaps-praise-singapore-190159329.html

We have extremely close military cooperation," Obama said as he met with Lee at the Oval Office, praising the capitalist Southeast Asian state as "one of the most successful countries in the world."

The ruler of the tiniest island with a force to reckon, is extending military support to The leader of the free-world.
An ally of the greatest minds or a conspiratorial propaganda to divert the attention from a potential Sars epidemic in the 3rd largest country (although disputed, your guess should be correct in this specific aspect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_area) ? As I've suspected all along, the once-sleeping dragon is putting up a collosal smoke and mirrors show. Critics will cry-foul over the sleight of hand attempts to cover-up the occasional ethical blunders. But there's no denying this rising superpower. The significance of Made in China labels have now evolved.
Napoleon Bonaparte once said of China, "Let her sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world."
I believed he said it in French.

I digress.

Back to the two men. Men with the power, authority, titles, admiration, respect, responsibilities, wealth, temptation, critics and advocates alike.

One of these men garnered a total of 65,907,213 winning votes during his second term.
The one who did the gangnam style at the White House, boogied on the Ellen show and has a whole slew of impersonators and look-alikes?
Epic-much.


I quote, "one of the most successful countries in the world" coming from Obama sounds pretty darn impressive if you ask me.
Then my over-analytical and sceptical aka Singaporean-side kicks in
You know how pragmatic we Singaporeans are. We want specifics. We broke the record for the world longest SATAY line! Omg!
"one of" - out of how many?
"most successful" - in which aspect?
"in the world?" - again with the ambiguity?

Is this little red dot now ready to consort with the big boys?

Photo and Quote Credits to Yahoo News and AFP News.
You do know that the caption is inserted in all triviality.

From Zac Efron to Utada Hikaru but don't forget to Kiss the Chef

Lest the title of this post belie the story ahead.
Refer to http://ifhellokittyhadamouth.blogspot.sg/2012/07/almost.html and http://ifhellokittyhadamouth.blogspot.sg/2012/07/kiss-chef.html

It's about time I continued where I left off. Honestly, my creative juices are waning. Inspiration eludes me.
S was a bundle of nerves, checking his hair with every chance eyeing his reflection in rearview mirror and smoothing out the non-existent creases on his shirt.
He had arranged to pick them up at 10.30 AM although he was already up 2 hours earlier; fretting over what to wear from head to toe; not too different from a teenage girl fussing about her first date.
His wardrobe was in a disarray after trying out close to 10 outfits; in a dilemma whether he was being over or under-dressed. He finally settled for a slim-fit off-white henley v-neck T and well-fit camel pants; after 1 hour. Then it was The Hair.

It's not called a man's crowning glory for nothing. Another good 30 minutes of mussing around and he's starting to panic as the alarm on his phone started going off. He had set the reminder last night; not that he needed any reminding for this "date"; heaven forbid that he would be late. He wanted everything to turn out perfect. Who knew if he would get another chance like this?

Let's imagine a somewhat clean-cut look (minus that dodgy outfit and cheeky smirk):

1000: It would have taken his convertible 10 minutes flat to get to their apartment. Tempting as it seemed; he wouldn't want to intimidate the mother and son nor come off as some filthy-rich brat; although very he's much of the former and a tad of the latter. He had grabbed the keys to his SUV and dashed out of the door.

Y was peeping out of the window Umma is Ahjussi here yet?! Prodding around while L tried to tuck in his shirt to no avail.
He was equally excited as S, getting out of bed much earlier and urging L to get up too.
Bae-ah it's still early, she said, while glancing at the clock, 1020.
L felt a tinge of nervousness and a hint of butterflies in her tummy. She found herself checking her hair and makeup in the mirror; touching up her cherry-tinted gloss now and then.
She picked out a peach cotton sundress that ended slightly above the knee and paired it with neutral cork-wedges.
Umma! Yyeepo-yo! !
Y's remark startled her out of her thoughts and she smiled to herself in surprise as Y stood at her bedroom door watching her in front of the wardrobe mirror.

It was only day out at the carnival and yet she's behaving like she's out on a date. Aigoo.. she furrowed her brow and thought to herself.
Umma! Ahjussi is here! Y called-out while peering out of the window. Fortunately the windows were secured with grills for his safety, if not she would have had a heart-attack watching him clamber around like a mischievous monkey.
Swiftly spritzing her pulse points with a sweet scent when the doorbell rang. She didn't expect him to turn up at their door!
She turned briskly towards the door while smoothing out her hair, and opened it while unsure about looking at him direclty. Y peeked through the ajar door and called out excitedly Ahjussi!
She smiled at him shyly and greeted him, Thank you for coming S, I didn't expect you to come up.
S was wringing his hands in anxiety, she's so pretty he thought to himself watching the soft auburn curls resting on her collarbone. He was momentarily tongue-tied and he stammered: Mmm-ian-hee L, ermm I should have waited at the lobby, I didn't mean to intrude.. err I looked-up and saw Y looking out of the window..
Kenchana S don't worry about that! I just didn't wish to trouble you. Y is just really excited about today.
Me too he said tentatively and let out a nervous laughter.
Aigooo.. why is Umma and Ahjussi so polite?! Y looked at them with puzzlement.
The adults just chuckled and tried to diffuse the tension.
S held out his hand and asked Y, ready to go have an awesome time at the carnival!
Kaja!!! Y let out in anticipation and grabbed Seunghyun's hand half-running and pulling him along.
L was all smiles watching the both of them.

He held the front passenger door opened for her while checking if Y will be alright on his own in the backseat.
He carried Y up and strapped him securely with the seatbelt before making his way to the driver's seat.
As he started the engine, and tuned the radio to the K-pop station for the latest hits.
Youngbae-ah, who's your favourite band?
Big Bang!! Do you have their songs Ahjussi?
You know what Y, I actually do have all their albums, they're one of my favourites too.
Bae-ah don't disturb Ahjussi while he's driving, it's dangerous you know.
S effortlessly switched to his collection of BigBang songs with the quick controls on his steering wheel.
He smiled at L, Don't worry it's just a click of a button.
I'll get you safely to the carnival and back home with no harm. He looked into her eyes and assured her sincerely.
Although his gesture comforted her, she turned away in embarrassment as his dark eyes always seemed to be so mesmerising.
S also snapped himself out of the moment and noticed a faint blush on her cheeks, he kept trying to steal glances at her with his peripheral vision while smiling to himself.
Secretly pleased that she's seated beside him in the car. This is as close as he can be with her for now.
Y sang along as they made their way to the fairground.
S husky voice paired with Y's unadulterated pipes make for a interesting combination.
Giggling along as they tried without much success to remember the lyrics.
L was so amused by the pair and can't help thinking how good S sounds.
Lost in his alluring melody, she didn't notice that they have arrived at the destination until Y exclaimed We're here!!


Till then.

I struck audio gold!

Smooth....

Belmont Laments

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/the-flipside/sticker-lady-vs-amy-cheong-got-worse-054820431.html

Reading this article gave me facial cramps of disbelief. I'm reeling in the wake of the blatant injustice of the protaganist's forward-thinking boldness to make a statement.
Offensive? Hardly.
Revolutionary? Maybe.
Illegal? Well. Technically I suppose.
Humourous? Most probably.
Fashionable? Yes.

Art hasn't exacly gone down too well with the higher-ups in our stiff upper lip society.

Even with the oh so impressive SOTA, I quote:
In March 2004, the Singapore Government accepted the recommendations of a Committee on Specialised Arts School to set up Singapore's first independent pre-tertiary arts school to nurture youths talented in the arts, with the vision to groom the next generation of artists, creative professionals and individuals who are passionate for, and committed to the arts in a multi-cultural society.

Note the keyword "accepted" and this was back in 2004.

Much as I have to comment about this saga, more importantly is that there's always an audit trail on the world wide web.

This year

2013 has thus far been a whirlwind of drama, crazy parties, unceasing workload and whatnots. Today again I find myself embarked on a feast marathon in all 3 corners of the island. I can scarcely remember a day where I wake up out of a whim and simply have all day to myself in idle bliss. It may seem futile to some but I've been looking forward to that for too long.
Everyone needs to reset now and then. To start afresh with renewed vigor to face the challenges ahead.
Even computers get a break; I know mine gets cranky after hibernating one too many times without shutting down.

Right now; I'm faced with so many decisions.

Someone just said sometimes no choice is the best choice.
Perhaps..

A thousand stars came into my system

50 shades of f**ked up indeed....

The Happiness Equation

Love + Laughter + Friends  + Family =  Happiness

It's in your hands ;)

More than Words

From artlyst.com

In no specific order:

1. platitude -  a flat, dull, or trite remark, especially one uttered as if it were fresh or profound.
2. erudition - knowledge acquired by study, research, etc.; learning; scholarship.
3. ennui - a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom-
4. affliction - a state of pain, distress, or grief; misery
5. calcified - to make or become rigid or intransigent, as in a political position.
6. licentious - going beyond customary or proper bounds or limits; disregarding rules.
7. venerate - to regard or treat with reverence; revere
8. writ large - made more obvious or prominent; "the effect of...his irregular life could be seen writ large on his gaunt features"
9. bucolic - of, pertaining to, or suggesting an idyllic rural life
10. eviscerate - to deprive of vital or essential parts
11. temerity - reckless boldness; rashness.
12. diffident - lacking confidence in one's own ability, worth, or fitness; timid; shy.
13. castigate - to criticize or reprimand severely.
14. elucidate - to make lucid or clear; throw light upon; explain: an explanation that elucidated his recent strange behavior.
15. ambivalence - uncertainty or fluctuation, especially when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite or conflicting things.
16. hyperbole - an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally, as “to wait an eternity.”
17. punctilious - extremely attentive to punctilios;  strict or exact in the observance of the formalities or amenities of conduct or actions.
18. priapic - exaggeratedly concerned with masculinity and male sexuality.
19. turpitude - vile, shameful, or base character; depravity.
20. avuncular - of, pertaining to, or characteristic of an uncle: avuncular affection

Haters gonna hate

Boss cat strutting his stuff

Yabba Jabba

If he isn't indulging in his bloodlust during his spare time, he does enjoy collecting polka-dot ties and polishing knives. An impeccable dresser although a little shy of his own reflection. LOL

Colony of Singapore

From Wiki : Flag Of Crown Colony of Singapore

After 3 decades of my life only then I learned that my mum was born during the period of political awakening of Singapore. Singapore was part of the Straits Settlements together with Malaya under colonial rule. But the post-war aftermath and the defeat of the British gave rise to a need for a local government. The year of 1955 was the turning point leading to self-goverment independent of colonial suppression.
My maternal grandfather was registered as a British Subject " The first Singaporean elections, held in March 1948, were limited as only six of the twenty-five seats on the Legislative Council were to be elected. Only British subjects had the rights to vote, and only 23,000 or about 10% of those eligible registered to vote." Wikipedia
However, he passed away when my mum was only 7 years of age, although he was already in his 50s then.
My grandmother had to raise 6 children on her own and she was already in her 40s.
I know so little of my family history.

Ignorance is a disease.

Kiss the Chef

LOL! Yeah right..not what I had imagined but at least this is easy on the eyes yeah? hahaha

The wistful look in his eyes seemed to bore right through her. It was haunting yet captivating.
Who is this man?
"Choi SeungHyun.." she mouthed to herself as she gazed out of the window ruminatively.
There was a hunch that she couldn't shake off, that this man wasn't just an accidental stranger.
She tried to comb through the recesses of her fragmented memories to get a clue.
Images flickered through her mind like an old movie, there was a backview of tall man walking away... in another scene, she was screaming in pain as her wrists were pinned against the wall..
Her head started to throb, a droplet of cold sweat trickled down her temple as anxiety gripped her.
"Aaaahhh" she groaned and crouched her body, holding on to the kitchen counter but it was dripping wet and her hands were slipping off.
"LENA!" SungWoo hurried towards her and held her up, supporting her shoulders.
"Are you ok?! What happened?!" he panicked, one hand turning off the running tap which was overflowing the kitchen sink and the other gripping onto to Lena tightly.
She tried to look up at him but her vision was still blurred.
"Kenchana.. Relax and take slow breaths. Here, sit down" he led her to the couch then gently rubbing her back to calm her senses.
"Mianhe Oppa" Lena slowly apologized once her nerves were calmed down.
 "Lena-ah.. you gave me a shock when I saw you collapsing and the kitchen floor was almost flooded. What if you fell and hurt yourself?! What if I wasn't around? Aish..." he half-exclaimed, half-chastised her.
Lena bowed her head sheepishly.
SungWoo covered her hands and assured her "Please be more careful ok Lena? Don't force yourself to remember the past. It will come back to you when the time is right. Promise me ok Lena? I may not be here all the time to look out for you and YoungBae needs you too. "
"Yeh Oppa, I promised." Lena smiled faintly and massaged her temple.
"YoungBae-ah" she tried to stand up to look for her boy but SungWoo held her shoulders firmly and settled her back onto the couch.
"You're weak and the kitchen is still slippery, rest here for awhile and I'll fix it. Arasseo?"
She tried to open her mouth to protest but he widened his glare at her; making her clamp her mouth shut instead and nodded. She knew how assertive her brother can be but she feels guilty for having to take care of his little sister. Although he does have a point; she can't imagine if she had gotten into a mishap, what would happen to her YoungBae? She shuddered at that thought and chided herself for not thinking of the people around her. YoungBae is already missing his real father and although SungWoo has been there as his godfather, they still don't make a complete family nucleus. 
I must stay strong for my YoungBae. She reminded herself.

The sound of tiny feet padding across the hall broke her from her thoughts.
 "Umma" YoungBae climbed up the couch to join her.
"Yes my YoungBae, what have you been up to?"
"I cleaned myself up Umma!" He stuck his chest out proudly even though his shirt was worn the other way around and his hair was still unkempt.
Lena smiled and patted his head "YoungBae is such a good boy" reminded herself to give him another shower before bedtime.
"Umma.. I'm hungry, can we have dinner?"
She looked at the clock, it was almost 7pm and she hadn't prepared their dinner.
"Omo" she gasped and hurried toward the kitchen.

She was surprised at the sight of her handsome brother decked out in a frilly apron and fussing over the bubbling pot on the hot stove.
"Oppa..."
"Dinner coming right up! I hope you like kimchi because we're having a kimchi-feast!Kimchi jigae, kimchi fried-rice and kimchi pancake!" He swirled and smiled broadly at the mother and son, while brandishing the soup ladle in the air.
Youngbae started giggling at the sight of his usually-cool godfather trying to look domesticated.
"Hey Hey YoungBae-ah, where are your manners? "
"Oppa.. I didn't know you could cook?! It smells wonderful! "
"Lena-ah.. Of course I can cook, I was living alone in the States, do you expect me to eat take-out everyday? But..... I can only make kimchi dishes." He laughed cheekily.
"Thank you Oppa, you're so sweet... Mianhe I troubled you again. Is there anything you need be to help you with?" Lena flustered.
"Kenchana, Lena-ah just sit-down and relax ok? I don't normally cook, but since you weren't feeling too good, let me do this once ok? Who knows? You might not want me to step into the kitchen again after today? Haha " He jested and turned towards the hot-pot to stir the contents.
"Lena-ah.. Seunghyun-ssi, the man we met at the playground today. What do you think of him? "
She arched her brow in surprise by his question.
 Beep.. the message alert sounded on her phone.

1 New Message from SeungHyun:

Hi Lena, there's a carnival at the park this weekend. Would you like to go? I am sure YoungBae will have fun there. :)

"Speak of the devil..." SungWoo teased, jumping right beside Lena, startling her.

"Oppa!" Lena eyed him coyly, embarassed by his incessant teasing.

SungWoo laughed out and turned to Youngbae, " YoungBae-ah how would you like to go to the carnival with the Ajussi you met at the playground today?"

"Yay! I like that Ahjussi! Please Umma.. can we go? " he pleaded at her with his doe eyes, tugging at her sleeve.
" Hmmm.. ok ok Youngbae, anything for my dear boy" she relented and rolled her eyes at SungWoo who responded with a innocent shrug.

*

SeungHyun stared at his phone after hitting the send button.

Aish, I shouldn't have contacted her so soon, what if I scared her away? !Arghh...

He cursed under his breath and paced up and down his room. SeungHyun has always been self-assured and confident in all his endeavors. As long as he sets his mind to it, the outcome will always materialize to his expectations. Being the youngest CIO in the history of Korea Investment Corporation, he helms a staff strength of over 400 and is overseeing the investment of the nation's foreign exchange reserves worth billions. As they always say, it is always lonely at the top and the path to his success has been fraught with adversities and sacrifices. He used to remind himself that it will never be easy and collateral damage is necessary; he can't allow himself to be weak at any point in order to reach his goal. Over the course of his climb up the corporate ladder, the people close to him grew lesser as the change in him was drastic. He grew suspicious of others, trusting only a few and eventually only himself.

He looked out the full-length windows of his Gangnam penthouse apartment, the view of the might Han River barely visible in the early evening; flanked by a cacophony of apartments and houses which illuminated along the length of its banks. He let out a sigh and thought to himself like he did every night.

Was it worth it?

He loosened his silk tie and undid the top 2 buttons of his dress shirt; releasing his silver cuff links and dropped them on the marble counter top.

He reached over the bar counter and poured himself a glass of whiskey from the crystal carafe.

It was emptied within seconds and he helped himself to another glass, swirling its contents before gulping it down without any gratification.

It was his nightly routine for the past 4 years, his daily dose of vice or intoxication;  alone or with the company of strangers. Men with something to offer in return for a cut of the corporate pie or women who will offer their bodies in return for one night with one of the top eligible bachelors in Seoul.

How addictive it was to weld his power and charm to make men and women alike to do his bidding.

It stoked the flames of his ego and greed, to see how pathetic these people grovel around him to get into his good favour.

While he was out hobnobbing till the early hours of the morning, someone was always waiting for him at home.

Even when he tumbled into the house in a drunken stupor and fell asleep on the couch or when he stayed out all night with one of the random wanton women whose name or faces did not matter to him.

She still waited.

He never knew of course, their relationship had been strained but it wasn't always like that.

She was only 20 when they announced to her the decision of an arranged marriage with the only son of another prominent Korean family. Her parents were getting on with age and already in their late 50s. She has an older brother who was the l'enfant terrible and rebel of the family; he left for the U.S. when he was just 18, with nothing but a suitcase and drive for independence; and swore never to return until he became a self-made man.

Her parents have been a childless couple after years of marriage but they yearned for family of their own so they went to the orphanage and immediately took a liking to little Lena . She was a vision of a little angel with her doe eyes and soft features. They spotted her when she helped a smaller child who dropped his milk bottle, he was wailing but she managed to coaxed him back with a smile. They had intended to only adopt one child but Lena started tearing and wouldn't leave without her protective Oppa, SungWoo who came rushing to her side and held her tightly in his arms refusing to let go. Their hearts softened at the two sworn siblings who would perish without the other, so they decided to take in the both.
Lena was an exemplary young girl who was virtuous and studious with a heart of gold; which could be her own undoing as she was too trusting. She always believed the best in everyone. Especially SeungHyun.

Written in the stars

Who knew that my fate and also of my blood kin were determined by my grandad's burial site?!
@_@
Evidently, the Kuan family descendents will never be able to lead simple lives.

I had a dream...

.. of KJK?! Oddly enough this isn't the first occurence.. Why don't the hot guys show up in my dreams instead? Big Bang pleeezzee *wishful hahaha

THE Christian Perchance?

Source: google.com via Fifty Shades on Pinterest

Grey

DOMINANT

submissive

Remember

The Story of Us.

Hmmm.. how should the story of my protagonists pan out?

Take what you need
Insatiable world
You'll never bleed on my colors for me
Rage in your words scream out in fear
They just get lost in the cold night sky