Barffie The Whine Connoisseur

Yes I said this 2 days too late but I didn’t feel well enough to blog about it

Here’s what happened in the past few days…
Friday
Went to work and then went for spa and then went to Jeffwee’s colleague’s BBQ.
We played a silly psychological game called Werewolf.

Homemade cards leh!

We did our countdown in the car, in our carpark as we were driving home. *facepalm*

Saturday
We went for the famoose Kong Long wedding (congrats Eddy and Kelly!!!).

Me and Seekee and Junkey! I love the photobooth!

Then met Janise for KTV…
Then we headed to Food #03′s Benbino’s Deli-bar at Rowell Road for the fooooood and stuff ourselves silly while we did some catching up.

We met Veron from CWS and we sat down to play a game of Crazy Cat Lady boardgames! SO CUTE!

I WON! I collected 14 cats!

Sunday
I had an eye infection since the end of Saturday. Possibly from some contaminated brushes or something
My eyes were tearing and this white discharge kept my eyes glued shut in the morning!

So I went to the doctor and rested at home today. I was on the brink of a flu outbreak as well – felt the chills and the sore throat which made me really tired. Bah.

Meow…

So the year 2011 came just like that. It’s been a fantastic decade for me as a 20-something. I don’t think I’ve wasted much time during this period of time… have tried living my life to the max – working hard and enjoying my freedom as a self-sufficient adult as much as I could.

I grew up, became less emo, experienced many things, loved with all my heart, battled some inner demons… won them and then some. So it was good.

Will my 30s be more happening? Or would I slow down to smell the roses a little longer?

Only time will tell.

In the meantime, thanks for reading, and I also wish you all the best… whoever and wherever you are.

Wore a pretty pair of new blue heels to work today. Made the necessary precautions by rubbing the feet with Foot Glide before putting on the shoes. This pair was slightly peep-toed, so I couldn’t wear tiny stockings to protect the toes from abrasion.

And then I hope for the best.

A pair of black Ipanemas

I ended up buying a pair of slippers at Nex Mall over lunch anyway.

Could almost hear my feet screaming for joy at this very moment.

I am a closet bag lady, I admit. But I can’t find myself shelling out more than a couple hundred bucks for a bag, really.

My most expensive bag, a Kate Spade Cornelia Street Noel Blair, was a gift from my lovely Seekee. It was on sale, and cost around S$300 or so I believe.

The 2nd most expensive bag is an Agnes B Voyage tote that I got from Tokyo a couple years back. It cost me around S$140.

And that’s it. Nothing in my bag stash costs more than a hundred bucks. Even the most expensive leather wallet I have ever owned is only S$100.

So why am I drooling over this?

Louis Vuitton’s Sofia Coppola collection. S$4580.

Previously, this?

Mulberry Alexa. Around S$2500.

Miu Miu Vitello Lux. S$3XXX?

Yeap. So I can keep on dreaming. Yes.

I wish for world peace. I wish for all cats to have a warm lap to curl up to. I wish for better health. I wish for all to have better health.

And be happy

Ballet has been as far from my world for as long as I could remember. I’ve always liked the more passionate kind of dance – samba, flamenco and all those high energy stuff. I know I am quite a chor lor girl, so I won’t be able to pull off that kind of grace.

Dancing is a deep personal interest that I have not quite explored. I have done Chinese dance throughout secondary school and then did a year of Bellydance, I had my clubbing phase but that was when I was much younger… thought of going into Hip Hop but with my slipped disc condition means that I would have to shelf that thought.

The boy and I had been watching So You Think You Can Dance for a couple of seasons and we found immense joy chasing all the dance routines. I’ve always imagined myself as someone who could dance really well, but without training it’s pretty difficult I supposed.

As you know, I am watching out for Black Swan, the movie… and was “researching” on Swan Lake performances. I found the really graceful, expressive and technically perfect (I know nothing about ballet) performance of Marianela Nunez.

Beautiful.

Swan Lake.

Pas De Deux in Infra, The Royal Ballet.

Look at how she floats and spins! Maybe I will one day go watch a real ballet performance by a renowned ballet company. What a dream!

Tonight, we’re heading out to watch Tron: Legacy. A Disney blockbuster sequel to the 1982 groundbreaking original. But this blogpost is not about that movie. It’s about my favourite movie of all time. I don’t hesitate when I say Requiem for a Dream is one of my ultimate favourites.

Deeply convoluted, depressing, sobering, painful, absorbing, haunting… I first watched it on a grainy, lousy-quality download on my crappy computer many years back. Despite that, the movie just draws you into the life of the characters. I watched, spellbound as they spiral down this awful path of drugs, addiction and the whole shebang.

I’ve never cried at movies, there were a few close shaves, but this one got me tearing as I huddled in front of the computer in my room. Even when I watched it a second time.

Did I mention the soundtrack just made me want to watch the movie, over and over again? That quartet’s haunting strings is a movie classic. It has to be. Or LOTR and a million other trailers wouldn’t even be using that score for maximum impact and epicness.

The trailer doesn’t capture the essence of the movie, but yeah.

After this film, Darren Aronofsky released The Fountain starring Hugh Jackman, which I didn’t like. Jeffwee wondered why I was raving about this show that didn’t turn out to be that engaging. I don’t know how to describe the disappointment, frankly.

Aronofsky’s later movies never quite made it to the shores of Singapore, and that was how I missed the critically-acclaimed The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke in 2008. Next year, I anticipate the arrival of Black Swan.

I’ve never liked watching the trailers of the shows I want to catch. Strange, considering I am a trailer producer and should eat and breathe trailers like air. Let’s just say, I hate spoilers. Formulaic Hollywood trailers are filled with so much spoilers, and the saddest thing is, almost all of the promising movies probably had their best scenes in the trailers. More so for the blockbusters when they release teasers and multiple versions of trailers.

But I caught Tron: Legacy’s trailers. I watched the music videos online. And I went to search for Black Swan.

Dance, psychological thriller, great cast – I’ve got to like this, won’t I?

Starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis (Jackie from That 70s Show), this is something I am looking forward to. It will only be here in February next year… but the glowing reviews and the intriguing synopsis mean that I will definitely be catching this film when it hits the big screens.

Ooooo. Dark, mindfuck movies. I like.

P/S The usual suspects on my list: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Fight Club, Memento… you know. That type. The only few I can think of that is not that type – Up, Stranger Than Fiction, Pleasantville… Anything that screws the conventional plot lines with an alternate universe, tricks and confusion of the mind… throwing in unique art direction complete with solid storytelling and a great soundtrack… they usually get on the list pretty easily.

This year we have agreed not to give each other presents, but we were to buy a gift for ourselves.

I might not buy anything at all this time round. I am also considering spending money sometime next year for one of these:

1. Canon S95 (or its latest incarnation)
2. IPL package for my hairy legs
3. iPhone 4 – not a need, but a want.
4. Some fancy expensive bag. Like the Mulberry Alexa. Next please.
5. A new 15-inch Macbook Pro to replace my 4-year-old darling.

Oh man. So little money, so much to spend on.

I love nights like this. Surfing for interesting things to ogle on YouTube and turning up some gems like these.

Award-winning Mad Men title sequence (can’t find a video that’ll allow embedding so… here’s the link)…

Simpsons version of the title sequence…

Supernatural in the style of Chuck!!!

Here’s the original.

SO FUNNNNN!

Reflector man

Tonight my husband showcased his first short film to his class. It was really fun to see how different people have interpreted their respective films and was glad that it was an interesting learning experience for everyone.

I do “short films” (promos are really, really short films that are even shorter) for a living, and quite frankly it’s not as fun when you do it as a job. The amount of expectation that goes into every shoot comes from stakeholders from all departments, which makes it well… less fun.

It’s infinitely more stressful. I… have problems managing the expectations of others and… I expect too much out of myself. All the time. It’s hard to let go, or let myself go for making the simplest of mistakes.

I got to stop punishing myself or to stop kicking my own ass, figuratively.

But anyway, back to his short film! Despite the difficulties faced when filming (we met a crazy ass dude and it rained heavily in the afternoon), we managed to piece the film up into a coherent and engaging package.

Yay! I am so proud of him