A Riddle...

I have a riddle which I hope most of you guys can take some time to ponder on it and think of the answer:
Here goes,

What is greater than GOD,
more evil than the DEVIL,
The poor has it,
The rich need it,
And if you eat it, you'll DIE??

Heehehe...enjoy figuring this out....pretty simple...according to a study conducted, 80% of the kindergarten kids got the answer compared to 17% of Stanford University seniors....hehehe....I got the answer instantly too....am I a kid??Hehe.....leave it to you guys to think it over....have a nice day!!~:D

Chicken Little...A Little Chick with BIG Ambitions

CHICKEN LITTLE...the latest "chicky" flick from Disney...animation. As a big-time Disney fan...I felt compelled to share my thoughts and views on this 'little' movie which I watched last Monday.
The story revolves around Chicken Little (Duh!~) which is a little white chick(obviously) living in Oakey Oaks with his only remaining relative, his Dad, Buck, who used to be a famous all-time baseball player in their local neighborhood. He goes to the only school in town and hangs out with a bunch of rowdy misfit friends; an Ugly Duckling, Runt(a paranoid and overly anxious pig) and also Fish(a fish which could miraculously survive with a bowl of water covering his face and only gurgles all the time in communicating). They were labelled as the unpopular group in their school....and even the school practises the double standard culture...yeah, the PE teacher actually divides the basketball groups to the popular and the unpopular...hahaha:D Then there's the Mutton Language class....by Mrs. Woolsworth who teaches them to translate the English language to the Mutton Language(sheep communication talk)...and typically everything sounds like "baa....baaa..." Getting interesting, huh?
Well, the story starts with our little chicken who rang the school bell at the top of the school building to alert the whole town about the sky falling. The whole town ran into a havoc and reporters rush all the way to the scene, equipped with their cameras and crew, eager to capture the so-called "HOT" news. However, when they arrived to hear the absurd story by Chicken Little, they came to conclude that it was just an acorn falling on his head which he mistakenly thought was a piece of the sky. Everyone was disgusted and accused him of lying and making a mountain out of a mole hill....causing much disgrace and dismay to his father who immediately apologizes and brings his son home.
To come to the worst, the reporters actually made so much fun of the matter that they decide to ridiculously make it into a film and the town was all over Chicken Little for some time. Our plucky chick did not let this get into his way and he finally stood up and quoted his favourite phrase; "TODAY is a brand NEW DAY". He was determined to put the past behind him for a brand new start and marched heads up to school; however, things do not turn out the way he wanted them to be and he ended up losing his pants on his way to school. He got into his locker and turned his Maths scratch paper into his pants for the day. Then he decided to go all out for the local baseball team, in pursuit of his dad's footsteps. However, big Rooster Dad will not hear of it and tells his son to stay low after all the commotion he caused with his sky falling incident.
Chicken Little was disappointed but still tried out for the team, although he was definitely super tiny for his size and the baseball helmet actually fell over his small head and even the baseball bat seems larger than him. The coach always made him stay on the bench while counting on his favourite player whom he looks forward to grabbing the MVP(Most Valuable Player) award of the year; the famous Foxy Loxy who scorns at Chicken Little and his friends most of the time.
Chicken did not let anyone stop him and he had his chance one day when he miraculously made a victorious hit and made it to the home run and won the game after losing for the first two hits. Everyone started seeing him as a hero, much to Foxy Loxy's dismay who insists that it was just a lucky hit. All of a sudden, our little chicken turned from a zero to a hero and big Dad was so proud of his son. It was a funny scene where Chicken Little sang "I am the Champion"...and dancing around on his bed.
All seems well and Dad seems all happy and life does seem to be perfect for our little hero; until again he saw the sky falling into his bedroom this time and he turns all panicky again. He knows he is not wrong this time as the piece of so-called "sky" is in his bedroom this time and it is right before his very eyes. BUT, the big question is his reputation has just changed for the better at the moment and Daddy may disbelieve him again. Agitated, he decided to call up his pals, Ugly Duckling, Runt and Fish who happen to be singing Spice Girls "Wannabe" karaoke version at Ugly's home. They went over immediately and was amazed at what they saw. Ugly Duckling proposed for Chicken to tell his dad who refused immediately and then Fish was morphed into the UFO thingy which caused all of them to chicken run after their friend. They were led to a spaceship or an UFO and stumbled upon a conspiracy to destroy the earth. They panicked and ran away when they were discovered by the aliens and a little alien decided to follow them, unbeknownst to them.
The aliens pursued them and Chicken Little ran to the school building and rang the bell again, again causing a huge commotion. The aliens were disturbed by the noise of the bell and retreated, thus the crowd came to nothing again and accused Chicken Little of causing havoc for nothing. Then Chicken Little found the baby alien and soon after, the aliens were back, for an intervention/invasion into Earth to search for their baby alien and Chicken was all set for a mission, to protect baby alien and to deliver him safely back to his parents' arms. Chicken finally made his Dad understand that he needs faith, trust and communication from him and he will proceed to his absurd mission even without his Dad's support this time. Dad relented finally and together, father and son made through the alien's laser attacks and delivered their baby alien back to the parents whereby the invasion stopped immediately.
They thanked Chicken Little and explained that the map which they mistakenly thought was a conspiracy plan for the Earth destruction was actually a map for the acorns they were so interestingly looking for for decades and travelling through the other planets was futile in their search. They will stop by Earth each year for the acorns and thus, finally the town understood Chicken's story. Their heroic mission was filmed by Hollywood this time, portraying Chicken Little as a big Chicken, muscular with a damsel in distress by his side, his ever faithful companion, Ugly Duckling....a Happy Ending....as usual, for Disney movies.
Being an all-time Disney fan since I was born(hehehe.....metaphorically speaking), I have little doubt that I will be disappointed with most of the Disney movies I watch....that's from my standpoint alone, you guys may have different views. I enjoyed the movie....anyhow, I watched it without expectations and I ended up having a good time, and it still puts a smile on my face when I think of the little chicken which was so determined in everything he does.
To make it simple, the show has a very simple storyline which makes it all entertaining and the message behind the story is also not too complicated to comprehend. I particularly admire and was struck by Chicken Little's character as he proved that nothing is impossible....which coincidentally is my motto;) At the same time, he is small in size...but it did not stop him from pursuing dreams which are big for his head and he never gives up. His determination and positive outlook in life truly struck me and I am definitely proud of this little chicken. In his case, size really doesn't matter...the will and determination is what that matters the most when it comes down to doing something.
Runt is also another cute character whereby he is often panicky over small things but he gets motivated by songs....hehehe.....i remembered the scene where he turns all heroic when he was told that he will survive.....and he started singing "I will survive...":)
Ugly Duckling speaks a lot...making her points until people have to literally shut her up and FISH, well, all he does is just gurgle and not much significance in the movie, he's just echoing whatever the others say anyway:P
Overall, a pretty entertaining cast in addition to the creative and imaginative settings they have for the movie...imagine a chameleon for a traffic light....:D
So, all in all,be positive, live life cool and always remember....."TODAY is a brand NEW DAY"...*wink*

If Tomorrow Never Comes...

Let's take a moment to ponder on this...life is pretty ironic; things happen around us everyday and yet we take them for granted. Pretty much in a stride as we view them as part of our routine...just like our own existence in life. We wake up every morning, go to school/work, come home, watch tv and sleep and the cycle continues for 365 days. If we stop to think of it, we should realize how fortunate we are to still see ourselves each morning....and be there to go through the everyday routine cycle. I am sure most of us have heard about people dying in their sleep....or perhaps some supernatural explanation as in the body astral travel experience...a little absurd perhaps for the non-believers and skeptics.
Anyway, the point is, we do not know how fortunate we are until we actually face crisis in our lives or death-threatening situations...and then we start to count our blessings.
Ronan Keating's song "If Tomorrow Never Comes" actually gives us an insight into this scenario...to think that today may be our last and to focus on what we should do to live today to the best...in his song, he actually voiced that we should tell the person we love that we love them...or to specific, that special someone because we may not live to tell them tomorrow. I like the pace of the song...and I've heard a dedication on the radio once; where a guy called and told the DJ that he's stuck in a traffic jam on his way home and he wants to dedicate this song to his wife waiting for him at home with the message that he's thinking of her and that he loves her very much. When I heard of the dedication, I was a little taken aback as this song does not sound appropriate to be dedicated to a wife waiting at home....somehow it just seems that he's conveying the message to his wife that he may not make it....a death will somehow to me:P Freaky but to think beneath it all, he just wants the wife to know that he loves her very much and he just wants her to know that fact.
Now this song replayed in my head....and it just hit me..not the lyrics, but the title...and now we could actually come to terms with the song that different individuals can have different interpretation/perspective revolving a single song. The reason the song title relate to me today is because I actually survived an accident...yeah, no kidding. I was driving to work this morning and it was raining...the road was pretty wet. I assure you that I was not speeding or anything like that..in fact, I would say I drove at a pretty reasonable speed and kept to the highway codes for the speed limit. I reached a roundabout and that was where it happened. I passed the first part of the roundabout; the first traffic light, then as I approached the second traffic light, there was this metallic brown Wira which was also driving in the middle lane while I was in the left. I drove past him and all of a sudden, I felt my car being pushed and then my car just spun. I hit on the brakes and gripped my steering. My car halted to a stop. I was stunned for a second and I drove my car to the side of the road, got down and examined my car while the other car stopped at the other turning of the roundabout. A kind Samaritan on a motorcycle, or actually a pakcik, stopped by and enquired about my condition, telling me that I was pretty lucky to be unhurt. At the same time, I was thankful that my car was also unhurt and everything was fine. The other drive, also another Malay pakcik(a govt servant I think, judging from his dressing), came over to check on me and he was also relieved to see that I was unhurt and my car was in a good condition.
After further assurance/examination that my baby(car) is fine, I got into the car and drove towards my destination. As I was driving, it suddenly hit me that I was really very lucky...to be alive....it may be a minor spin but thank God, there were no oncoming cars, otherwise, only God knows what may become of me right now. I could have hit the railing or go off the road and may just.....die on the spot....freaky but a realistic possibility. Then I also recalled how calm and collected I was at the time, funny now that I think of it...I was in fact TOO calm, somehow I don't seem to realize what has happened....in such a daze that I just make it seem like it's some kind of routine to just get down and check on my car...it never occurred to me that I was actually in an accident!!!~~ Man, this thought is really scary....but come to think of it in an optimistic manner, I am actually steady in handling this and yeah, God gave me a second chance. He was there....I believed that GOD was the one who shielded me from any harm and also my car...I believe HE was there.....that's why there were no major injuries and no oncoming cars...HE protected me:)
Anyhow, I realized that there are many people out there who truly cared about me and loved me for who I am....and I also realized that I have many people around me whom I should cherish and yeah, what if tomorrow never comes? And as Chicken Little says, Today is a brand new day...never thought I would actually use this phrase in deep meaning after watching the movie and using it for motivation. Now the meaning tilts slightly to...yeah, It's a really brand NEW day for me....I am given new life.....and I feel that we should always live our life to the fullest and live everyday like it's the last that we do not have any regrets by the end of the day;)
Tell your loved ones that you love them....Communicate with people....do not suppress your feelings to your inner self..life is too short to let opportunities pass by...so, live once again and be ALIVE!!!!
So, Carpe Diem and enjoy your life!!:D

The Maid

Hmmm....watched some movies lately but one which I would particularly like to mention is of an Asian flavour...a Singaporean production.
The Maid is set in modern day Singapore and takes place during the seventh month of the Lunar Calendar, also popularly known as the Festival of the Hungry Ghost(will elaborate in my next entry). The story centers on a family which delves in the opera showbiz and they are hiring a Filipino maid, Rosa. Rosa is young and naive, having to leave her family for the sake of financial pursuit and a sick young brother whom she loves very much. Her employers seem kind to her and accepted her as part of the family. She even gets on very well with their only son, a mentally-retarded guy, Ah Soon.
Rosa was taught of all the superstitions of the seventh month and also prohibited from all the taboos. She was reprimanded when she tried to sweep away the ashes of the burnt hell money from the front compound of the house by her mistress. Then, she starts to have visions of the underworld as she begins to sight the wandering spirits. She gets the scare of her life and her employers was concerned and assured her that they will handle her problem. Soon, she starts to feel a presence in the household as well and she saw the ghost in her room and on the cupboard. At the same time, Ah Soon is getting more affectionate towards her. She starts to have nightmares and it was after that she starts finding things which have the name of "Esther" attached to them and starts to question her employers. Furthermore, she notices another foreign maid across the street who gives her weird looks and stays away from her.
After getting enough of the scares; one including a small boy who died in an accident in front of the house and appearing to scare her to get him his ball, she decided enough was enough and approached the foreign maid and her employers and starts investigating about the mysterious member, Esther whom she suspects was the former maid in the household. The neighbour's maid, Wati was still apprehensive on talking to her and gave her a look of fear when she mentioned Esther's name and told her to question her own employers. Puzzled, Rosa tries to find out and is still very much bothered by the hauntings of the ghost in the household. Her mistress then told her about Esther who was their former maid who was ungrateful and eloped with another foreign guy. Wati denied the story saying that Esther was a decent and good girl who just disappeared without a trace. Rosa and Wati became friends, but not for long when Wati was possessed by the spirit of a girl whose funeral procession passed her. (The driver mentioned that the shadow of the coffin which befalls anyone could bring bad luck to the person; so he needs to drive to the cemetery before the sun's position is on the other side) Wati was the unlucky one whom the shadow casted upon from the position of the sun and she went berserk; Rosa chasing after her and witnessed in horror as she jumped to her death from the food court on top of a complex.
Then she also starts hearing voices in the costume room of the house and she finds herself drawn nearer to a drum. She tears open the drum and finds a burnt decomposed body. Then she yelled at her employers saying that she knew what happened to Esther and they were solemn until she ran to the door, threatening to tell the police. Next she found herself tied up and gagged; dressed in the qipao (bridal gown for Chinese) and was at the altar. She saw her own picture and that of Ah Soon with all the decorations ready for a Chinese wedding to take place....hahaha...should i reveal that much to spoil the story for you guys?:P
Anyway, her perverted employers were trying to arrange an astral marriage for their son who died a year ago...yes, their Ah Soon. Apparently, he was very close to the former maid, Esther and he was so fond of her that he raped her while they were playing together(kinda absurd for a mentally retarded guy with the IQ of a child to be capable of such indecency...anyway, they mentioned that he is anyhow still a guy) and Esther wanted to lodge a police report. Her employer stopped her and he tied her up and burnt her to death, at the same time suffocating her with the bridal veil covering her face. Then he sealed her body in the drum. Ah Soon was upset over Esther's death and he committed suicide as well...which means all the while, the Ah Soon Rosa has been with was a ghost!!! The restless spirit of Esther, on the other hand has been trying to communicate with Rosa and now they are trying to bring the employers to justice. They want to hang Rosa to death at the auspicious hour for the marriage, who refused and they tried to make her say yes by promising to support her brother's medical fees back in the Philippines...then Ah Soon tried to stop them and his father caught fire, and burnt to death..actually Esther contributed to that. Before he died, he still demanded his wife to hang Rosa who escaped and her mistress rushed after her with a knife out to the road where she got hit by an oncoming lorry.
That was the tragic end of the whole family. As for Rosa, she returned to the Philippines with the grateful soul of Esther in her urn. At the airport we can see the three souls of the family standing and looking at them. Then another story starts about another girl having to leave her homeland to pursue a job in Singapore...

Pretty much the story is Asian-like and quite original, a little different from all those genre of the Ring. They depicted the reality quite well...with a few scares of sudden appearances and centering on the sound effects. I think it's worth a watch....so, do enjoy the movie!~

Graduation Blues

Hihi,
It's been more than a month since my last entry and I have been pretty occupied with the happenings. Working now....pretty busy with meetings and stuffs related to work which explains the reason behind my idle updates..haha.
I've graduated last month....and yeayyy...convo was great fun!!;) Hip and happening...it was just so cool to meet all my friends and coursemates and yeah, I do feel proud of my university...kinda felt "patriotic" towards my uni that I sang the theme song ever so loudly.
The above pics are the scenario of the convo; on the below left is the set up of the stage a day before the actual convocation and on the below right, was the snapshot during my session of the convocation. Yep, my university divided all the faculties into different sessions to accommodate the massive number of students and parents and relatives into the hall during the hounourable ceremony;)
Those on the stage were the academic staff; along with our respected Chancellor in the middle:D
A pretty solemn but memorable ceremony which ended on a happy note;)
Thanks to everyone...and let's keep in touch ya!
"We will still be...Friends forever"....quote from Graduation song by Vitamin C :)

Misleading Track

The last post was about me on the right track about the dumpling festival and here I am, talking about a "Misleading Track"? hehehe.....this blogger must have gone out of her mind:p
Actually, what I am talking about here is the TVB series, Misleading Track, starring Bowie Lam, Louisa So and Deric Wan. Just finished watching it and I find it quite alright, in fact,better than what I have expected although I must say I watched it without any expectations...kinda bored and just wanted to watch something.
Frankly speaking, it wasn't exactly those type of series which would look sooooooo appealing at first glance due to the dull colours of the cover and also, the actors seem to have some kinda bored expressions on their faces which make it all seem so boring. However, I find that it was quite alright and definitely not too draggy in the pace of the show. Although I was kinda taken aback at the early revelation of the truth of the story, but it led to the guessing path of the more evil deeds the antagonist may have in mind.
Okay, before you start screaming at what I am talking about, basically the story centers on Louisa who plays Yan Teng aka Yen in the series who was unjustly imprisoned for about 5 years in Taiwan for murdering her husband, Lau Kai Chung (Deric Wan). Upon release, she went back to Hong Kong and sought shelter at her cell mate's house, Sister Kam aka Kam Jie. She did not dare to go back to her family as she has cheated her mum of her savings and deprived her brother of owning his own car workshop in the past for the sake of helping her husband and then flew off to Taiwan with him, while her own family disowns her.
Coincidentally, she ran into Bowie who was her mum's lawyer and then Bowie plays an important role in mending their family relationships. Bowie seems like a perfect man who has it all, a great career in law, a loving wife and an adorable daughter along with a gentle and understanding mum. However, as the series later reveals, he lost it all and was forced into a bitter and vengeful character, to Yen's surprise, as he discovered that his daughter was in fact his best friend's biological daughter and his wife only married him to spite her ex-lover who left her to pursue his studies. At the same time, his best friend tried to separate him and his wife and created hell for him in his career. All went bleak and then Bowie struck back, going into the corporate world upon losing his lawyer's licence and used evil means to get back at those who harmed him.
I shouldn't reveal too much as it may spoil it for those who have yet to watch the series, but the unique point in this series is that it really spins the harsh realities in life that beneath surface perfection, there's also lurking danger and that a good person with patience has their limits and also, the ongoing friendship between the two leads may have led you into believing that they will definitely fall for each other, as in the typical TVB formulas..but amazingly, it turned out otherwise. Definitely an interesting series which is different from the normal series and if you watch it without any expectations, you'll be pleasantly surprised with the flow and the results of the way the series turned out;)

I've also finished watching 'Lost in the Chamber of Love', starring Myolie Wu, Ron Ng and Michelle Yip and I must say that it was also quite an engaging series..which I may talk about some other time;)
Currently watching Split Second.....hmmmm...will reveal the plot another time although I must say the plot's starting to wear out for a supposedly exciting police story....hehe

Happy Dumpling Festival!!

Hehe...just on the right track...recently posted on the dumplings sold in Penang and now is the time for an official festival period, which is celebrated each year on the 5th day of the 5th month in the lunar calendar...yeah, none other than the famous 'Dumpling Festival' or more familiarly known as the 'Tuen Ng' among the local chinese folk.
I guess most of the websites, papers and blogs have gone into details on how this festival came about and pretty interesting to read about it in case you are still in the dark on the origins of the much-celebrated occasion. At the same time, another interesting bit is that in Penang, it is also the time of the Dragonboat festival if I'm not mistaken, or so I heard from some of my friends who are Penangites...correct me if I am wrong.
Alright, facts aside, wish everyone a Happy Dumpling Festival which will be two days from now...enjoy your feast;)

P.S: I am not a fan of dumplings at all...hahaha...in fact, I do not know why, I dislike most of the festive food and I just dote on the uniqueness and cultural origins of the festival...I know, that's the odd me..but hey, everyone is different, right:p