the four right chords can make me cry

Belle & Sebastian

Nice day for a sulk
The girl smells of milk
Her horsey teeth explode around us
And we run for cover she found us
In the cheapo bar with a bag of chips

Nice day for a mood
The forecast is good
The kids are melting in the doorway
Keep the gang together
There's no way will you ever be misunderstood by me

Nice day for a jam
The Fall, Manfred Mann
Dance party, summer lasts forever
When the band's together and Bobby
Drank too much and fell in the Clyde

posted by beckyboo @ 8:54 PM 2 comments

number twenty: se7en
watched with vanessa and aaron in room A21 of manor house

Had a nice day out shopping with Kjersti and Marie today, it's so nice to spend time with people from manor, it's just so sad that we'll all be going home soon, and Singapore is just so far away from everyone else.

I've finally put some photos up on facebook, if you have me on facebook.

posted by beckyboo @ 9:10 AM 1 comments

I celebrated the end of my exams by going to watch a movie with Vanessa!
Was looking for something to do after dinner and so decided to make a list (which always makes me happy, making lists) of all the movies I've watched this year (as far as I can remember).

1. Miss Potter (10th Jan)
2. Venus (29th Jan)
3. The Queen (5th Feb)
4. In the Mood for Love (6th Feb)
5. Infernal Affairs
6. Hannibal Rising (15th Feb)
7. Rocky Horror Picture Show (22nd Feb)
8. Battle Royale (23rd Feb)
9. Babel (23rd Feb)
10. Volver
11. Dr Strangelove
12. 300 (22nd March)
13. Good Will Hunting (23rd April)
14. District B13 (29th April)
15. Serendipity (8th May)
16. Blade Runner (8th May)
17. El Habitante Incierto (11th May)
18. Into Great Silence (13th May)
19. This is England (23rd May)

Very pleased, most of these are quite good shows! Hopefully more good shows to come.

posted by beckyboo @ 4:52 AM 0 comments

Exciting!

I wish I could say the same about my own research. Right now, I can't even find a prof who will let me do an honours year project in his/her lab, much less do groundbreaking work. Very upset I am. Time zone differences and the waiting for email replies doesn't really help much.

One more exam to go! Exactly 12 hours away, exactly 12 more chapters to revise! And then I can start thinking about my FYP again.

posted by beckyboo @ 4:20 AM 0 comments

Personality of the Week
Brought to you by distracted biology student and Wikipedia

Barbara McClintock

Over the years I have found that it is difficult if not impossible to bring to consciousness of another person the nature of his tacit assumptions when, by some special experiences, I have been made aware of them.

I remember reading about her in some textbook or other in year 1, but I think I got distracted by the picture of the cat next to the article (X-chromosome inactivation) and I don't remember much about her research except that it was about maize.

Female nobel prize winners rock.

Labels: Personality of the Week

posted by beckyboo @ 9:46 PM 0 comments

HUMBUG.

posted by beckyboo @ 2:44 AM 0 comments

just a little coffee to kickstart my day


market we stumbled upon


string quartet we stumbled upon


Why I love Londoners reason #27: they seek alternative modes of transport



up in arms at Cambden market


and that's why we're closed


becky loves big books!


houndstooth hats are hot


Lunch with FOS (friends of summer)
apologies for blurry picture, trembling from the sheer effort of resisting the duck on the table.





kai wai giving us his best "deer-caught-in-headlights" impression


I can hear the people sing~!!!

but I can't get into studying mode =(

Just got back from London, where I caught Les Miserables. Really really enjoyed it! Had very good seats too! Well pleased I am.

Before I left, I watched a really good film (Die Große Stille) that I wanted to blog about. But now i'm feeling kinda brain dead so just read this review for now if you're interested.

Philip Gröning’s Into Great Silence is pure cinema at its purest and most exalted. Its achievement virtually defies commentary; a critic has only words with which to illuminate a film, but how can what is wrought in silence be illumined by words?

continue reading

and lastly, my phone is spoilt =( keep having to turn it on and off, it's annoying.

posted by beckyboo @ 10:25 PM 0 comments

Lemon Jelly Nice Weather For Ducks

posted by beckyboo @ 5:51 PM 0 comments

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

posted by beckyboo @ 2:03 AM 0 comments

We went to watch Eurovision at the bar today, a extravaganza of campy fun! I do think that Ukraine should have won, don't you?

On another, even more exciting, note, I'm going to be watching Aerosmith live this June! Hehe... I made sure to spend some time today making my brother feel jealous about it. We had a hilarious chat. I invite you to eavesdrop:

b: guess wot peaches?

peach: wot

b: i is going for a concert

peach: huh cool

b: and guess who's headlining it?

peach: not the venga boys, right

b: eeeeeyer
starts with a
ends with h

peach: no idea

b: its not aezoh
ae........?

peach: aezeroth
aeroplane, meh

b: that dont end with h

peach: meh ends with a h

b: so close yet so far!

peach: AEROSMITH
I GOT IT

b: HOW COOL IS THAT!

peach: i envy you
ahah
exchange go so coool places

b: hanor

peach: all i got for choices was
china
and ... china

b: eh peaches you know what?

peach: no

b: try to convince mum&dad to buy you tickets to london
then you come help me carry luggage home
and watch concert with me
if you can convince them to buy you airtickets

peach: yah, cos the price to ship ur extra stuff is more ex than flyig there and back

b: i'll pay for your concert tick
no lah
i'll be shipping with some friends
freight
but if you come then dont need to ship
waddya thinik?
aerosmith
they're NEVER going to be in singapore
and they so old lor
gonna die soon
heh

peach: dont think i have the time to go up
but yeh, haha
enjoy, then bug me about it when you come back
which i now realise
is soon
and i malu

b: why you malu?

peach: because i still haven't passed my liscence
hurhur

b: MUAHAHAHA

peach: prac 6 out of 8
lazy lah
went to print PDL that day
BUT SOON
tuesday next lesson

b: im gonna catch up with you lor

peach: no way :(
but probably
haha

posted by beckyboo @ 7:41 AM 0 comments

hello friends,

last year, for my 21st birthday, i invited you to my house and had a mega big party. there were about 80 of you in the house, and i still feel grateful when i think of your tolerance of the heat that those sheer numbers generated. i was very happy; it was so good to see all of you there that day, but i also swore to myself never to attempt anything so crazy ever again. i shall attempt something even crazier.

this year, i invite you to join me for a 10km run instead!
http://www.singaporepassionrun.com/

registration ends 20 May!

Labels: Run

posted by beckyboo @ 7:49 PM 3 comments

Leaving is going to be so hard.
Wouldn't change a thing.

posted by beckyboo @ 8:19 AM 0 comments

reunited with my mac today!

so, umm, yeah
i don't know where to start
chronologically i suppose?

29th March - 2nd April : Paris

2-8th April : Barcelona

8-27th April : Faro

18-20th April : Lisbon

27-30th April : Edinburgh


I'm really quite speechless about the whole experience. It feels quite surreal, almost as though I dreamed the whole thing. I need someone to talk to me, ask me questions, get me started. Not just anyone; I'm feeling a little knotted up right now, I need someone patient to pick at the knots and undo the mess little by little.

I don't mean to say that all that traveling wasn't good or I didn't enjoy myself. Far from it; I really had a blast. But what does it all mean? How am I different? I'm just as lost as I was before.

I am the cat who walks by herself, and all places are alike to me.

I think I understood it best when I explained it to Vanessa on this beach:

I find that most places are the same to me; the differences are obvious but superficial. The underlying, fundamental thing remains the same. I don't know what that thing is. I think it's because I'm such an extremely introverted person, that so much of my world is created and carried around inside my head, that the external environment can do very little to change it.

So, theoretically, going back to Singapore shouldn't be a big deal right? But it is.

There is just so little time left out here in the wide world, before I put my blinkers back on, keep my head down, and just keep plodding on. It hit me very hard when I drew out the months May and June on a piece of paper and started marking dates off. I knew it would, and that's why I drew it. I guess this weird feeling I have now is partially me still reeling from that blow. Could also partially be the fact that its 3am now and I got up at 7am today and walked to church from manor house (took me only 1.5hours, amazingly).

My mum says people have been asking about when I'm coming back. I want to say "I don't know" because I want to stay as long as I can; I hope to change my flight dates or something. But I hear it in their tone; right, girl, you've had enough fun. you'd better come back and settle down. Don't get any silly ideas in your head.

A little too late for that though.

And I just feel SO out of touch with everything going on back home. From the birth of Jayna, to more pregnant people to Kelvin&Grace's and Jianming&Joanne's wedding to Mandy leaving for Beijing to people graduating to the senior writing assistants not being around when I'm back. I'm just missing so much.

To be honest with you, this whole SEP experience has been a huge exercise in escapism. And now as I brace myself to face the consequences, qualms, doubts and misgivings raise their hackles and bare their teeth.

Will she fight or will she run?

posted by beckyboo @ 9:07 AM 1 comments

just in case you were wondering...

beck's back in bham!

booyakasha.

unfortunately, i'm going to disappear again to study for exams.
(or so she claims.)

updates when i feel like it!

posted by beckyboo @ 6:28 PM 0 comments