Sacking of Rome

The low blast of a horn cut through the thickening fog. Alaric shivered and drew his cloak tighter around him to shut out the cold dampness as Feric, his black roan gelding snorted and stamped its hooves. A quick glance at his fellow allies confirmed that they were feeling the cold too.

Behind him, the troops remained stock-still except for the occasional chink of armour against steel. Alaric, a battle hardened veteran, Ruler of the Visigoths, leader of the alliance of Visigoths, Osthgoths and Goths, could sense his men's excitement; eager to get at the riches of Rome which had grown rich and lax, a luscious peach on the outside but rotten to the core by decades of corruption on the inside. Rich and defenseless, the age of Rome was coming to an end. The centuries of repression and subjugation of the Goths by the accursed Romans was not lost on them either.

Rome glowed in the darkness below, Alaric could barely make out the tiny columns of light snaking throughout the structured streets, the remnants of the once mighty Roman army attempting to fortify the city no doubt. Alaric smiled. But then again they would probably be in a state of near panic, having had a large portion of their army routed and all their generals captured or killed in the battle, no, massacre the day before. Soon Rome would burn.

Some disturbance in the ranks roused Alaric from his musing. A breathless scout ran up to him and dropped on one knee. 'Great Chief, Chief Anzlath has secured the eastern pass and Chief Merriath has control of the southern road. They await your signal my Lord.' Alaric nodded in acknowledgement.

"Well shouldn't we crush them now? Everything is in place and our men are dying to shed Roman blood!" A boisterous, impatient voice queried. Alaric stiffened and turned to address the offending source, a swarthy man with a bushy beard, leader of the Osthgoths and an impulsive person whose only tactic was brute force. The war would in all probability not have progressed this far if he had his own way.

"Vilkorvic, patience! The gods have yet to give us their blessing. We have gone so far and we shall not fail now. Rome will fall!"

Vilkorvic opened his mouth but was promptly silenced by Alaric's firmly upraised hand and settled for a sullen glower instead.

As one, the entire army awaited with bated breath, expectant and excited. The sky lit up as a blinding flash of lightning streaked down and struck a dead tree some distance north with a thundering boom. The tree swiftly burst into flames, a veritable bonfire.

Alaric raised his sword in salute and roared. "Hecate, Mistress of Death has spoken! Faelor, God of War rides with us! Sound the signal!" The armies roared as one, a bestial creature hungry for the kill as bloodlust gripped all and sundry in its tenacious grip.

A horn sounded and was rapidly joined in by another and another till their blasts reverberated throughout the hills, ominous and menacing, clarion calls of doom as a wave of torches were swiftly lit.

"To War! To War! For tonight, Rome will burn!!!" Alaric bellowed and with that the Gothic armies swept down on the hapless city as relentless waves of flaming arrows rained down. Rome burned.


Foot note: The sacking of Rome by Alaric I of the Visigoths in AD 410 marked the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire. Rome was subsequently sacked again by Geneseric of the Vandals in 455 and the tottering Empire finally collapsed in 476 when the Germanic Chieftian, Odoacer, captured Rome and deposed the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus.

Rome's sister empire in the East, the Byzantium Empire with Constantinople as its capital would survive for another 1000 years before falling to the Turks in 1453.

For Sean, to celebrate his new job. More pay, less time. And our goal draws ever nearer. :)

3 More Days to the Rat Race.

Yep. Three more miserable gone-all-too-soon days before I become an official member of the rat race. And in terms of hierarchy, Pupils at the law firms rank somewhere behind your Pantry Auntie and Toilet Cleaner, probably just a step above the errant cockroach or two. Which is a really big comfort. Really. Ah well, henceforth begins the days of 9-9.

It's strange how four years fly by so fast. All those semesters of slacking off, WoW, skipping classes, three months holidays with the bi-annual cram fest just 1 week away from the exams. And I get a second lower to show for it, which is fine with me though I'm sure if I was a hardcore mugger, Upper wouldn't have been a problem. Still the entire 'University Experience' has to be by far the slackest and correspondingly most enjoyable (in some ways) chapter of my education thus far.

I've been pretty slack on the yaoi manga front lately especially with regards to the translating bit. The short break taken for the May finals proved to be pretty fatal to the urge to continue translating numerous chapters of yaoi manga in a few days. Translation soon slowed from one chapter every two days to one chapter per week then one per fortnight, then one per month. And right now, it's pretty much dead. With three days left, I'm hardly inclined to jump start anything.

Besides, like Sean scoffed in the beginning, "You're crazy. Why are you so into (translating) when you're not even paid for it?" Simply because I had the urge to do so at that time, felt like doing it and so I did it. But when things stop being enjoyable, the desire to undertake that activity evaporates and inertia rapidly sets in. After all, a slacker like me can't sustain periods of hard work without any material benefits in exchange. And translating while enjoyable then was hard work. Still, I'll probably finish up my last few projects for Bliss. To Obsession, I've probably disappeared off the face of this earth.

The past few days have also been bogged down by admin shit. God knows why signing up for pupillage and PLC has to be such a hassle - all the forms/delayed dates/ having to re hand in certain forms at the end of June, with the added need to settle uni matters too. Still, joining the rat race is the start of a new chapter and brings me one step closer to that goal of moving out and moving in together with Sean.

3 more days of blessed bliss. 3 More days to finish the remaining 67 episodes of Inuyasha. DragonballZ will have to wait.

Colours of the soul.

I was bored and did the Colorgenic's Profile test off Aileen's blog. It's funny how much they can come up with just based on your personal choice/order of eight different colours. And the results? Interestingly freaky....

Enough is enough - you feel frustrated and rejected. You are fighting back and the going is tough. It would be just wonderful if you could be left in peace.

Being impulsive and irritable, your desires and needs are paramount. You do things with insufficient thought - with little regard to the consequences that may follow. As a consequence of this attitude, you may be experiencing stress and conflict.

In spite of the fact that you believe that your hopes and ideas are realistic, it is hard for you to accept that your needs and desires are misunderstood by almost everyone within your sphere of influenceand there is no-one to turn to or rely on. Your pent-up emotions and inherent egocentricity make you quick to take offence, but as matters stand you realise that you will have to make the best of things as they are.

You are presently experiencing excessive stress as a result of self-restraint. You act and think differently from the common herd and you want to be liked and admired for yourself and to associate with people who feel and act as you do. Because of this need to be self-reliant and to break away from mediocrity, you are finding this situation most uncomfortable and you are experiencing considerable anxiety - perhaps even more than you feel the capacity to cope with. You need to find a 'soul mate', someone whose standards are as high as your own - but where? Keep on searching... The situation is uncomfortable and you would like to break away from it, but you refuse to compromise with your opinions. You are unable to resolve the situation because you are continually postponing the making of necessary decisions. You are stubborn but this is no deterrent to a happy life, so why drop your standards. Think positively, everything will work out. It has worked out successfully for you in the past and it will again in the future.

The tensions induced by trying to cope with conditions which are beyond your capabilities, or your reserves of strength, have led to considerable anxiety and a sense of personal inadequacy. Your inability to take control of the situation causes you to over-react in stubborn defiance blaming everyone but yourself for your own failures.

For now, back to Inuyasha.

Stuck - I Am

I can't get it out of my head, this second opening song of the Inuyasha anime, I Am by Hitomi. It's been going on and on like a broken recorder albeit a strangely pleasant one, helped in no small measure I guess by the marathon sessions of Inuyasha (Episode 55 and it's still that song) and the rather upbeat, drum like rhythm of the song. And before this was D-tecnolife by UVERworld from Bleach, which remains infectious anyway. Inuyasha by the way is one of the most enjoyable series I've seen to date: lots of comedy replete with loads of fighting.

So without further ado, I'll leave you to judge for yourself. Which in case you haven't noticed, is the first song on the Playlist.

I Am - Hitomi (Download link at Yaoi/Anime/Ost Guide post.)




探そう 夢のカケラ拾い集め
切なくても 今なら探せるだろう
めくるめく 毎日の形変えて
切なくても 確かな今を感じよう

見かけよりも単純で だけど伝えきれなくて
言いたいコトは いつもポケットにしまってるネ

子供じみたコトなんて 今さら言えない
時が解決するとか言うけど わかりあえずに

24時間 君を信じてるよ
見つめてるよ ありふれた言葉でも
時はいつも 急ぎ足で笑う
想い出より 求めたい今を見つけよう

動き出さなきゃ始まんない 悩みだすと止めらんない
一夜かぎりの夢に 甘えていたくはないし

乙女チックな願いも そのまま置き去り
愛が全てサ 僕らの時代は ここからはじまる

空を突き抜けてく 鳥みたいにネ
大空舞う イメージが動きだす
歩こう 道は遠く続くけれど
いつの間にか 輝きだすダイヤモンド

24時間 君を信じてるよ
見つめてるよ ありふれた言葉でも
時はいつも 急ぎ足で笑う
想い出より 求めたい今を見つけよう

探そう 夢のカケラ拾い集め
切なくても 今なら探せるだろう
めくるめく 毎日の形変えて
切なくても 確かな今を感じよう

English translation

Let's search for and gather the shards of dreams
Even if we're sad, we can probably still find them now,
changing the shape of the brightly turning tomorrow.

Even if we're sad, let's feel the sure present.
It's simpler than it looks, but I can't tell it all.

I'm always putting what I want to say away in my pocket.
I can't say things with childlike plainess now.

It's said that time settles all, but without understanding--
I believe in you 24 hours a day
I stare wide-eyed, even at common words
Time is always laughing on its swift feet
Let's find a present we want to look for more than memories.

If we don't move, we can't start. If we worry, we can't stop.
I don't want to be coddled by dreams of this world's limits.
A maiden's cheeky wish is left behind as it is.

Love is everything. Our era starts from here.
Like a bird cutting through the sky,
the image dancing in the great sky begins to move

Let's walk -- the road goes on for long, but
it'll shine like a diamond before we know it.

I believe in you 24 hours a day
I stare wide-eyed, even at common words
Time is always laughing on its swift feet
Let's find a present we want to look for more than memories.

Let's search for and gather the shards of dreams
Even if we're sad, we can probably still find them now,
changing the shape of the brightly turning tomorrow.
Even if we're sad, let's feel the sure present.

The Little Things.

It's the little things he does that never fails to remind me why I love him so and not to take things for granted. Little things like Royce chocolate for no particular reason/special occasion and that quaint but fun chinese tea session at Tea Chapter. Thank you dear.

Braided Hair

In front of the mirror she sits, impassive and immobile, her face an unreadable mask. You see her now don't you? How rigid her posture, the frigidity of expression, her face cold, indifferent, beyond caring as her mother croons comfortingly while combing her lush hair in the background. A statue carved from ice, elegant in her aloof frostiness.

"You have to forget the past and embrace the future, it will be a good life that you live too. He will bring you much happiness and the marriage much prestige to our family. You will be happy." That particular emphasis on the wrong word and excessive amount of force expanded combing her hair was not lost on her. Resentment and fear, conflicting emotions rear their ugly heads and she wills her trembling hands to be still, a stark contrast to her frosty countenance.

And yet a mere hour past, the scene was an entirely different one. Then she had been fairly hysterical, hurling her accessories and whatever she could lay her hands on across the room, renting her glorious silk wedding gown, viciously snipping the chiffon tassels to bits and refusing to let anyone in; resulting in utter pandemonium as the handmaidens begged desperately outside while she shrieked and cursed at them. She realised with horror the impending loveless marriage she was being forced into, a marriage of convenience and it would be in effect a life imprisonment, her carefree way of living now defunct.

A gilded cage but a cage nonetheless.

A faint tremor cracks the emotionless facade, a shadow of doubt passing through her face, the seething cauldron of raging emotions threatening to breakthrough her imposed barrier in a violent conclusion. Her mother, a sharp wily, calculating woman, caught the fleeting and subtle change. "You must strengthen your resolve. You know this is the life you are destined to live and it will be good." Again the emphasis. As hands tighten on the individual plaits of hair and deftly braid them. A sigh. "I know how you feel. I was once like you. But you must face reality. You can't keep running away and when you finally accept it, you might actually enjoy it." A smile. Is it genuine? She cares not. You were never like me. Never. I was wild and free. I shall be free again! Thoughts, rebellious, vibrant and incoherent ran through her mind.

"Have you finished?" The impatience in her voice barely concealed. "Yes. I hope you have made up your mind to be happy about it." " I have decided." She declared. Then turning back as she opens the door to leave, her mother utters ,"You have no choice anyway." A snide smile and the door shuts with a sense of finality. She wants to scream, to vent her anger and frustration on anything but the room is stripped bare, her mother has seen to it in her ruthless efficiency.

Resigned she steps towards the door. A sudden breeze stirs the curtains, the scent of lavender heady yet relaxing. She turns gripped by the sudden inspiration. How the thought of eternal imprisonment and having her wings of freedom clipped irks her. Her braided hair heavy and listless, a dead weight on her back, how she longs to wrench it free and let it fly freely in the rising wind. This she does with a laugh, gaily swinging her head, her hair free once again, the very epitome of joy. Laughing still, she steps lightly towards the window, curtains flapping in welcome.

Granny

Having an 87 year old granny that attempts to try new, 'strange' things (as she calls it) in an effort to keep up with the times (like watching anime with yours truly and an epic struggle trying to surf the net to check her stock prices) is I guess really cool. This coupled with her often astonishing perception of things that one might regard as 'innocence' often makes her actions and words surprisingly refreshing.

So it was today, when I was leaving to meet up with the Other Half after his work that she displayed that amusing trait of hers.
"So who are you going out with later?" (Granny)
"My friend la."
"Girlfriend or Boyfriend?" ( In an extremely nonchalant tone.)
"Er.. you shouldn't go round saying things like that la. Guy friend you know. Boyfriend is different."
"Is it? Boyfriend, Girlfriend all friends la. The same one."
And she returned to stirring the huge mass of popiah filling in the wok.

But just in case you were wondering, no she certainly doesn't mean Boyfriend in the sense that a Boyfriend really means. I would have just laughed along and told her ya going out with my Boyfriend (Which I was after all) if the highly religious Christian (ie: fanatical) aunt was not around. And no the aunt does know what a Boyfriend is.

In other news, went with Sean for the brow grooming thing at Browhaus. Self-tweezing is always rather troublesome and getting the shape right is near impossible. So we chose the threading process because it was supposedly more popular with the guys and faster than tweezing anyway. The whole thing took a little under 5 mins and save for a little discomfort when one wonders whether the scritch scritch sound of thread slicing through hair would accidentally take off a piece of one's eyelid; the result was really good and much faster than tweezing.

So I got the package thing 10 sessions for 100 bucks cuz one session by itself is about $15 and since it's a monthly affair and saves all the hassle of having to tweeze, I figured it was a really good deal. Even though they typed Ms on the receipt and the cashier blushed and apologised profusely when I pointed it out. The sweetish warm lemon tea they served was another clincher.

For now, back to Diablo and Pandora my lvl 82 Amazon... who nearly died while figting Mephisto. WEEEAk. But still fun la. And I still have Granny's speciality Popiah to look forward to tomorrow. Nothing like wraping your popiah and stuffing it chock full with all the extra stuff you want. mmm.

Unholy Trinity.

Alright so I haven't been posting much, it's hard to when all the available time is split between three very demanding and addictive activities. I've started playing Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction again after like what 3 years? for the fun of it and mainly cuz the cheapo aunt's new comp is a very bare bones model without a dedicated video card. So while I'm glad I saved my old single player character files, playing Necrosis my level 81 Necromancer with his army of 14 Revived monsters, 12 Skeletal Mages, 4-5 Skeletal warriors and 1 Fire Golem often means a little lag fest while battling hordes of demons in the depths of hell.

Fast foward to Vemyra, my lvl 83 Assassin decked out in the Natalya's Odium set, a couple of nifty rings and the beloved Chaos runeword claw equipped in offhand. She doesn't have a mini army, so lag is largely solved though the tricky part was getting used to the playing style which involves a lot more hotkey tabbing and timing than the Necro style which is basically Curse, Poison Nova, Raise Mage, Revive, more novas, revive,revive revive. All the while spamming bone spear on the left click button. You basically overwhelm the enemy through sheer numbers and a lot of Poison Novas and Lower Resist cursing. An interesting spectacle but not one that's very kind on shitty comps. Even if this is a 6 year old game.

Anyhow, playing Vemyra proved to be very enjoyable, something about all those shifty, shadowy powers and the very spectacular scenes after finishing off the Phoenix Strike charge ups plus u get to mix up to three different charge up skills and unleash them in a dazzling display of destruction if you're quick enough and there's still something around for you to whack. And as they say all good things come in threes, well not really but her three lesbian companions dish out the damage fast enough to make the Revived look like wimps. Plus with the exception of Elly the rogue, the other two can be summoned in a moment's notice. Talk about instant gratification.

So 6 hours later I completed the rest of Act 4 and 5. Baal wasn't too thrilled to see the Shadow Sisters.

Valkyries normally aren't pally with Assassins. But in Vemyra's case it's that skimpy attire of hers that proved to be too great an attraction. I'm still partial to the shadow master, it's like having another Vemyra on auto. Old games can still be addictive once in a while.

The other major bulk of my time is taken up with anime watching and frantic downloading of the 167 episodes of Inuyasha. All 125 episodes(currently) of Bleach have been finished (sadly) and Death Note is proving to be a whole lot more interesting than I expected it to be. Not surprising then that the average review it received was 'Masterpiece'. But with only 10 more episodes left, it won't last very long. Hence the frenzied downloading of Inuyasha.

What's left of my available time is spent on Steven Erikson's sixth installment in the captivating epic series, The Malazan Book of the Fallen: The Bonehunters. His depth of detail and story weaving as usual is epic and while it might be a little heavyweight for some, you'll soon find yourself totally lost in it.

So between Diablo2, Anime and Steven Erikson, there's hardly any time left for blogging. Or maybe it's just because I'm lazy. But blogging should always remain an activity that one engages in because one wants to and/or has something he/she wants to talk about. The moment it becomes a chore or obligation, you're really better off not blogging at all. So for now let me indulge myself a bit. Till the urge to blog seizes me once again.

Affirmation

It was on that stormy Saturday. Overcast sky, lightning forking through the blackening sky, people scuttling around like an army of ants.

I enjoyed the harsh rasp of wind on my face and the hint of rain in the air when you tugged insistently at my hand. "Time to go," you said. Reluctantly I turned and followed.

The rain came fast and hard and we ran laughing, yelling, cursing to your car. The rain, a celebration of life, left me weak yet inundated with a sense of reckless joy to be blessed thus by nature's gift of life.

You look at me as we get into the car, clothes soaked and shoes squeaking. "Happy huh? You look just like the young boy I remember." Too happy and wet to register it fully I give a non-committal grunt.

Pulling out to the expressway amidst the torrential rain you shoot me a sidelong glance and grab my hand. "Do you still love me?" you query, a tinge of insistency, in your voice. I spin around startled and halting any further talk, your need to explain yourself (the urge so plain on your face), I plant my finger on those lips and seal them with a kiss.

We ride back in silence both captive of the surreality of the scene just unfolded as the rain continued its endless patterns on the windows, the sound a mesmerising and hypnotic angry patter.

To that unanswered question you asked so long ago,
Yes I still do.

06 June 2003

Note: Written almost 4 years ago, the memory even older still, yet its funny how that moment stands still in time, as fresh and real as if it were only yesterday. And after all these years I can say with greater conviction. Yes, I still do.

Silk & Satin

The filthy bundle of rags stirred, displacing the flies settled on it, which promptly proceeded to buzz about angrily at this unwarranted disturbance.

A head emerged and crooked up to discern the source of the disturbance that had roused her from her mindless reverie. Strains of laughter and the joyful sounds of merry making floated across the street. Slowly and painfully, this misshapen crone rose to her feet, her face and hair so streaked with dirt, her back so hunched over; it was hard to tell that this creature was human, let alone once a ravishing beauty with porcelain white skin and golden blond hair.

She once had a name, Mariam it was. But that was so long ago, a different life and world when everything was not ash. Mariam is mad, she knows it or at least the tiny portion left of her sane self does. She is beyond caring though, preferring instead to revel in her insanity and embrace the mind-numbing bliss it offers. A sanctuary.

Slowly but surely, she hobbles over to that intriguing source, the sounds issuing forth vaguely familiar and possessing an allure she cannot ignore.

The sight of this creature stumbling across the cobbled street, hair down over her face, a swarm of flies buzzing furiously around their mobile host is strangely disturbing and brings to mind an alien overlord with its covey of faithful minions. After an eternity, she reaches the closest window and propping herself up on the ledge, peers in.

The sights and sounds of gaiety is a rude shock to her, the colour , beauty and happiness so different from the dirt and gloomy grey of the drab streets she had grown accustomed to. A lady in a stunning saffron silk dress with fluffy chiffon tassels of satin sails past gracefully, champagne flute in hand, laughing with a fellow companion. This image brings back a sudden flood of memories, the carefully erected barrier of madness failing to staunch this sudden onslaught.

I was rich once! Yes rich and gorgeous with friends and a loving husband to boot. That dress is nothing compared to those I had: fine chinese silk and Florentine satin laces in myriad colours, cerise, amber, carmine, citrine, quinacridone.....I had it all until that vixen came along, that wicked, evil bitch who poisoned my husband against me, cast me out of my home and destroyed my life. Bitches like the one that sailed past.

Her face twisting into a rictus snarl, she growled incoherently, speckles of foam dancing on her lips as she pressed her face and fists hard against the windowpane. The lady in silk twirls around, disturbed by the ferocious malicity directed at her, unseen but discernible, a dagger between the shoulder blades.

She drops the glass with a gratifying crash and shrieks hysterically, the sight confronting her undoubtedly like some demon straight out of hell.

Time slows after this as a burly man in a fine topcoat rushes out and swings a club at the one called Mariam. Frenzied with anger, she evades the blow with unnerving agility and snarling gutturally she charges him and sinks her teeth into his arm. She is rewarded with a loud bellow and the salty metallic tang of hot blood as well as a sharp blow to her head.

"That bitch Bit me!" Her vision clears and she sees the man clutching his blood soaked sleeve with a grimace and staring incredulously at her. "Come now Henry! Don't bother about her, she could have rabies for all you know, let me see to that wound." It was the lady in silk who hurried up beside the man and ushered him back into the house, but not before giving a little lady-like gasp and shooting Mariam a venomous look.

The door slams but Mariam barely registers it, she is in a daze and insanity once again takes its rightful place as ruler and sole master. She staggers off, her bevy of flies in tow, mumbling incoherently into the darkening dusk.

Broke Back

I'm Broke but I'm Back. Pun fully intended. Despite being without internet access for 5 days, the past few days spent with the Boyfriend was really relaxing and enjoyable. On top of the company, it was probably the only holiday so far whereby sex, shopping and eating was perfectly balanced out with just enough of everything. Plus the relaxed pace also meant we slept in till eleven plus /noon, got out just in time for lunch, a little shopping and exploring followed by either a coffee, then dinner, a little more walking and back to the hotel room. Naturally, a lot of brokebacking was in order too.

Nothing like those 10am-10pm shopping (imposed) marathons that always characterises a family trip to Malaysia / KL where one is made to walk the malls whether one wanted to or not and meals inevitably consisted of food court food 95% of the time which is farking boring ok. Come to Malaysia to eat food court food... So this time I planned our iteniary in advance, which really was a short list of where to go for the day and more importantly what to eat there. And because our mentality for shopping and eating is quite similar, Sean was more than happy to just tag along, though we did argue a bit over the best mode of transport to getting to Chinatown.

As expected, there really is a lot of good food in KL. You just need to know where to go to find it and the places we tried mostly lived up to expectations if not surpassing it. Except for lunch at the excellent Madam Kwan's and a mediocre dinner at some Jap restaurant, all our meals came out to less than RM 55 for two people. Which would probably make the miserly shopping bargain hunters scream. But like I said it's reasonable and I certainly didn't come to KL just to shop, food was a pretty big factor.

Travelling was done almost exclusively via the train/monorail system which was really convenient and cheap considering how close Corus Hotel was to the KLCC station and the fact that all the places we wanted to go to were acessible via the rail network, Bukit bintang, Mid Valley, Chinatown, etc. Money saved that we spent on food, shopping and lube. We bought three tubes... the first two were.. how shall I put it.. not very satisfactory. Especially the 'Pleasure inducing Tingling Sensation' durex one. Not good unless you like the feeling of having your ass on fire.

And we made good use of the hotel room though I kinda pity the housekeeping people who come to clean our room every day. It's pretty much a slum by the time we're done with it, wrappers on the floor, the sheets on the floor, our video & audio cables still attached to the TV. Still not too over the top though. Our 1pm-8pm schedule often meant we were back in the hotel before nine, often armed with cut fruits and a 1.5l mineral water bottle and the occasional supper. We both brought our respective lap tops and Sean got pretty hooked on Generals: Zero Hour.

So he'd sit there and play it on my laptop while I'd watch Bleach from the portable HDD I brought on his laptop which I hooked up to the hotel TV and this would usually go on to about 2 am when we'd call it a night. And in this way I finished about 53 episodes of Bleach over the entire trip that included the very comfortable aeroline bus journeys. Plus I finally got my Scissor Sisters 'Tadah' cd at Towers for 29.90 RM, a tad cheaper than Singapore.

So all in all I'd say this trip was a really pleasant one, not forgetting the fact that it was our 'honeymoon' of sorts, 5 years too late, well certainly our first out of Singapore. I'll probably come up with a short list of the nice places we ate at soon. So many things to do first though. Unpack, do the laundry, jumpstart my yaoi manga translation for the scanlation groups and finish the other 54 episodes of the Bleach anime!!!!! Wahahahahahaha.

Right, now I'll go take a shower.

Blah

Alright, I was about 75% through with typing out a rather impassioned entry about prejudiced people with fixed mindsets making shoddy, seriously flawed arguments about the perceived trend towards decriminalising homosexual acts between two consenting males in Singapore (a long overdue development imo - See the article , Decriminalising homosexual acts would be an error .) when the Boyfriend accidentally turned off the power supply to the laptop. And since I hadn't saved a draft, everything basically went kaput. So yeah, the thought of retyping everything all over again is basically too unappealing, plus I'm having a sore throat so I'll just call it a night.

I want my Egg Mc Muffin breakfast value meal before boarding the aeroline bus tomorrow..

Dim Sum Delight

Good dim sum is hard to find. Good and cheap dim sum is much much rarer. By good, I mean those with standard, usually your genuine Hong Kong Cantonese kind of dim sum with thin, translucent skins for their har gaos (prawn dumplings) and tasty stuff that don't stinge on the main ingredients (ie: the meat & fillings) and attempt to replace them with cheaper ones (ie: flour.) Sure one can find good dim sum in various chinese restaurants of reputable standing but they tend to cost a bomb. So when Sean told me about this two bucks a plate dim sum place that is good, I was naturally quite sceptical. TWO bucks is bloody cheap, FYI.

For those who have never tried dim sum and are clueless as to what dim sum is (pity, you're missing out so much), it's basically small portions of chinese snacks/confectionaries(the savoury type) that are either steamed, broiled or fried and can be eaten at any time of the day. Goes splendidly with congee and chinese tea. Very tasty, very addictive, not very healthy. But really who cares. And mind you we're not talking about the kind of 'chinese' food you get for your takeaways. No 'chop suey' or disgusting 'egg rolls', I can never fanthom how such food gets passed off as being 'chinese'.

But I digress, this place while deceptively cheena-biang that looked like an aunty haunt, served really good dim sum. That Hong Kong Dim Sum label wasn't a mere puff after all. Less talk, more pictures.

The entrance of the eatery. In case you can't really make out the words on the glass door, it's 香味, the name of the eatery which when translated roughly means 'Good Taste'. Ok la, they do live up to their name for their dim sum. Situated somewhere along outram road near Chinatown. It's at the row of shops opposite People's Park Center. Opens from 7am-3am on weekdays, can't remember the weekend opening hours but it's rather long too. And it's Air-Conditioned too!! Yep enjoy that dim sum in cool comfort.

The interior of the eatery. As you can see, rather cheena biang(they even have an altar to some old thai monk) and the kind of place that your average auntie and ah peh would frequent. Which as the Boyfriend said they do and that youngsters seldom know of this place. A state of affairs he was perfectly happy with. Sorry dear but the dim sum was so nice. And I doubt there'll be a sudden deluge of visitors from the readers of this blog anyway.

We ordered nine dishes that included char siew pao, carrot cake, Wu kok (yam with fillings), har gao, fried prawn dumplings, siew mai, chee cheong fan, etc. And everything was nice, which in my books when combined with the 2 BUCKS a plate factor (it's cheap damnit) is an incredible feat. Even the 皮蛋(Century Egg) with shredded pork porridge was superb. Those nine dishes and two glasses of barley left us comfortably full and cost us about $21. Which like I said for good dim sum is really cheap.

They often say that one can tell how good the dim sum is from the char siew pao( stewed pork bun) and that certainly has a lot of truth to it. This char siew pao was perfect... THIN soft skin for the pao, lots of char siew filling with a lof of char siew that you can actually see and not just the sauce. The night would have ended perfectly if the incredibly delicious Dessert Hut had remained open but alas it was not to be. Save up on all those calories.. but still I miss their Black Sesame Paste with Glutinous rice Balls. Sighhh...

One more day till the KL trip with the Boyfriend, in the meantime I've been watching Bleach with a vengeance, I can tell why it's shonen anime or that aimed at straight guys. All those bouncing boobs, lesbian lolita connotations abound and a cool hero with a big ass sword. Still, a very nice series so far... Even my 87 year old granny is hooked on it ok! She got out her plastic container of Gua Zi(melon seeds) and settled down on the sofa beside me, happily munching away while interrupting with the intermittent question. So as you can see anime's appeal is universal indeed.

And you'll excuse me now. I still have 112 more episodes to finish.

Holi.. Holiday!

And so the exams are over and I'm officially on holiday. Officially, because everyday since the start of this semester has been a holiday to me anyway. Skipping classes, getting up late, surfing porn, cooking, going out, you name it. Everything I should have been doing (ie: Studying and revising like a good dutiful law student who doesn't waste the parent's money and going for classes faithfully) I have not and everything that I shouldn't be doing (slacking and treating everyday like a holiday) I've done. Which makes the End of the Exams not a estatic cause for celebrations, paint-the-town-red kind of event it once was.

Other than the fact that I will now be sympathizing with laughing at Law students, have over 500+ episodes of unwatched anime to devour and that the clock has started ticking down to when I officially join the Rat Race in slightly under a month, not much. But you know how humans are, while we need an entire boatload of threats, rational arguments and the sad but ever present need for survival to work; we seldom if ever need a cause to celebrate. Yours truly the embodiment of Play today, Die tomorrow.

So yes I shall celebrate this truly lacklustre milestone in a drunken orgy of sex, shopping, anime, gaming and eating. Not necessarily in that order. Though it also means I have to restart my yaoi translation routine for Obsession and BLiss which got stalled a month ago after the bout of anime marathon sprees. I of course pleaded the upcoming exams to excuse my sudden tardiness, so don't kill me if you're reading this please Kurogami and Beleth. Lol. Anyhow I promise I'll get round to starting my stalled projects (Private vol 2 & Chiisanna) soon, once I've attended to more pressing matters.

And like so many people who've posted up lists of things/activities they wish to do once their exams are over, I've come up with my own list too. Whether Those people do so out of the genuine need to write them down lest they forget so that at the end of the holls they can revisit their list and lament how fruitless/laughable their holls really went or simply because it's the grown up version of thumbing your nose at others who haven't finished their exams and going 'Nyaah Nyeeh'- that implicit statement of malice that I have finished and you haven't; is of course debateable. For my case, it's the latter. Except that everyone else has already finished their exams. Ah well. I'll still be laughing at you around exam times next sem. 'Nyaah Nyeeh.'

Things I'm going to do.

1. Finish my shitload of 500+ episodes of anime series that include: 123 episodes of Bleach (so far), 291 episodes of DragonballZ, etc. Which amounts to roughly 230 hours of anime. Talk about a mega fix.
2. Get drunk. Does not entail getting sick or vomitting on miscellaneous pieces of hotel room property. Pleasantly high is the word.
3. Eat like there's no tomorrow. Well not exactly but eating is certainly one of the highlights. Plus the upcoming trip to KL with Sean is a good excuse to pig out.
4. Fuck like there's no tommorow. Well this I can and wholly intend to do. He's not leaving the bed till I'm done with him or vice versa. Besides we always fuck like there's no tommorrow anyway.
5. Attempt to win a 3v3 in Command and Conquer: Zero Hour with the two clueless and often a bit humji(overly cautious would be a nice way of putting it) straight classmates who double as gaming kakis. Oh we strategise and plot then when it comes to actual fighting vs human players, it ends up with statements like: "Fuck man, he built a tunnel in my base." "Take out his command center?" "He stole my dozer that chee bye." So yes you see still quite sad on that front.
6. Start my lazy ass on the translations again. Groans. But that Bleach/DragonballZ/Naruto Shippuuden/(insert random anime series) episode is calling me.
7. Shop. Not till I drop. Cause shopping unfortunately entails shopping for working court attire which means long white sleeve shirts, black long pants, black leather shoes, and a non-neon non pink tie.
8. Read more Yaoi. I haven't read half of my 11 Gb worth of yaoi manga ok. Blame anime.
9. Continue exercising. Must must must. And no, sex while a form of exercise doesn't fall under this category.
10. Blog less. Ya otherwise how the hell will I have the time to do 1-9.

The trip to KL with the Boyfriend will be our first together out of Singapore. How sad is that huh. Yeah totally the mother's fault. She who believes two guys going out is an orgy. So it'll be nice even though it's just Kuala Lumpur that I've visited like 5616261636161 times. But he's only been there ONCE so I'll pretend to be pleasantly surprised. "Oh look! Petronas Twin Towers!! Waaaa..." But like they say it's the company you go with that counts.

Going drinking with the straight clueless classmates aka gaming buddies at Brewerkz tomorrow. It's been ages since we last went for that $3 a pint at lunch kind of beer outing. Which is really easy on the pocket, since we usually go there order some chips and guzzle about 7 pints of beer. Though I wish they'd do that for Asahi beer (sigh..), Brewerkz beer ain't half that bad. In fact it's really nice and I'm not a beer person so that says a lot.

It's amusing I strongly suspect (if not know) that the two of them suspect/know that I'm gay. Especially CS who used to be an avid reader of my old blog that was sometimes scary. So when I shifted over, I abandoned the old blog entirely for one month (just left with a I will not be back here post) before relenting and posting my current blog address. So I won't be surprised if they know about this blog too.

It's interesting cause while they've always dropped hints and made 'alarm bells' kind of remarks ranging from buggery (that old quaint english word for sodomy- we read about loads of those in Criminal law, generally along the lines of schoolboys and school masters) to more explicit gay remarks. And so I just played along with them. Kinda like the 'Don't ask. Don't tell' policy I'll adopt at work next time. I suspect CS always wants to ask right out, we'll see if the alcohol tomorrow loosens his tongue. And if he does, I'll probably just say it anyway. Backup measures include dousing him in the face with more beer.

And now I must leave to go paint the town red. I leave you with that emblematic dance number from J Lo, Let's Get Loud. That song which in itself brings back memories, played at Venom on New Year's Eve of 2000 when I was partying with CJ, that ex-crush, who proceeded to hug me(of his own accord yes I fantasized about that for days after) and declared 'Happy 2001 Faggot!'. That same song was also played when I went clubbing with Sean and one of my campmates whom we call Rabbit at Whynot on New Year's Eve of 2001 and that hyper-active bunny, hands swinging about wildly like a Para Para fanatic on Ecstacy, smashed into my face sending my specs flying into the crowd and left me quite blind for the next 3 hours.

Thankfully, the titanium frame specs survived the abuse and was found intact with a couple of scratches when the club was about to close. So this is really the song that brings back memories of all those hedonistic, painting the town red days. Which is exactly what I'm going to do now. Ciao.

Round and Round - An Ode.

Prologue:
My fish tend to die this time of the year during the finals. It's like a death anniversary of some sort. First the widespread decimation of the cichlids in 2004, then the giant suckerfish's death in april 2005, followed by dear old Oscar in April 2006 and now the last Goldfish of the entire collection of about 12 Ranchus if I recollect correctly finally gave up the ghost after outlasting its brethren for a good length of time. Dropsy, a disease that often results in swelling and the pine cone like appearance of fish with their scales sticking out, the cause of death.

I gave it a couple of treatments in the Bucket of Doom which alas wasn't of much use, I suspect the internal organs had already failed. Still goldy lasted a good 4 years and it's a good time to say goodbye. There's something about the fish and exams. They always die during the finals, it's like they're stressed that their owner isn't. Well well, so in the mean time, two little cory catfishes remain the sole inhabitants of a decidedly forlorn looking tank. And as an ode to goldy, here's a poem I wrote exactly two years before Oscar died.


Round and Round

On and On, they danced in circles.

Concentric and geometric patterns appearing on the dusty floor.

Dustballs whirling in merry accompaniment to their frenetic rhythm, yet they continue oblivious to all but the dance.

Do you see them now?

Spinning like frenzied Dervishes, their clothes a whirling, they sweep across the floor, enraptured, enamoured.

Oscar goes dizzy watching, he pirouettes admirably and crashes against the glass wall, dazed and resigned.

Yet onward they spin, round and round, lost in circles, these little pixies of mine.