Updates, Jostling June

Hi everyone (well, no one's reading this anyway, more like - hi Li'az!) I'm currently on a hiatus for my Seoul research (the travel date is coming real soon and I'm short on info!), but there are updates every now and then:

Because I'm such a lazy blogger, I shall jot things down in point form:
1. On Seoul:
I forgot to post, but I did manage to book a hostel for my trip! Check it out (Hongdae JK House) on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HongdaeJKHouse, it's really marvelous + it is new and probably sparkling clean. The owner seems pretty friendly as well, no advance payment, just a word of promise and I nailed the deal :)

Hongdae JK House is pretty near Hong Dae's 3D art house too Trickeye Museum (Seogyo Plaza B2, 357-1, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul 121-838, South Korea) - that means I don't have to fly all the way to Jeju island for its 3D Art Museum!

These are some reviews of Trickeye:
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g294197-d2203080-Reviews-Trickeye_Museum-Seoul.html

2. On college and work: 
Well, this is supposedly my 3-month holiday but I'm splurging all the time on mugging for my placement test (a pain in the ass, really). I received last semesters' results today via sms- and my CAP sort of improved by a few decimal points. As for my Korean grade, it was a little disappointing but I'm glad it wasn't a C. Enough of school, let's talk about work! I'm grabbing all the opportunities for exotic jobs and I'm currently holding two :) The first is a part time at Intercruises for the Royal Carribean and coming up this Thursday I have a job at Sarang, the Korean restaurant at Orchard Central. Hope all would be well, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.


3. On BOOKS and WRITING!: 
I've been reading A Song of Ice and Fire in my free time (on the bus and train while hopping from place to place, Singapore is really overcrowded.) and while listening to awesome soundtracks, I write when I should be sleeping. I'm still trying to revise a few tricky chapters! Words are flying everywhere.

Advice for myself: clear that block like a plumber and let the words flow. 

The annual book fair at Suntec City Convention Hall just gets smaller and smaller every year. I'm utterly disappointed by the amount of books they have (an the number of major book stores collapsing)! Back in the good old days the place would be a paradise filled with screaming kids hugging books (not assessment books). And now, the place just gives you goosebumps because there just isn't enough human to warm the place up. Geez. The booth for Times was like a lighthouse. I managed to buy a good book and thanks to my lovely cousin, I ordered even more books online (free shipping) from NOQ store.

I'll be getting my hands on Diana Wynne Jones' Howl's Moving Castle and Alexander Lloyd's Chronicles of Prydain soon, finally! Eeeeek!!! *dancing around the house* Gosh, I've been looking all over Singapore for Howl's Moving Castle, and they only appear in libraries.

4. On movies: 
Dark Shadows was very-Tim-Burton-ish and of course, I watched it because it's a Johnny Depp + Tim Burton film.

Nothing beats Hunger Games though, haha (unless you are watching Hunger Games for the second time or third time.)(You'll most likely watch it objectively until the muttations part).

Snow White and the Huntsman's coming out on May 31st! I've been waiting so long for it - I mean, I can't wait to watch the Queen, just look at the mirror and the milk bath...I'm not a Stewart fan, I shall not comment, but I do love the suit and amour (and probably the plaits).

And the best is saved for the last, I've been waiting for years for The Hobbit! ( I re-watch LOTR every year and yes, I tear every time.) Peter Jackson is back again! :D *fireworks* (I saw Peter Jackson's production video a year ago) I was hoping Orlando and Elijah Wood's coming back but I'm not sure---are they? But from the trailer, Ian Mckellen, Cate Blanchett and Andy Serkis' definitely back on set, cheers for the crew! I was that into LOTR  - even my mom know's what "my precious" mean. She didn't watch a single movie haha.

Anyway, the ranting's over! Have a lovely day ahead dear readers. (If you happen to stumble over my blog, that is.)

Quote of the day: "To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." - Thomas Alva Edison

I guess this applies to writing as well.

Post Hunger Games

I've been so absorbed in the Hunger Games trilogy these few days that I literally can't really go through the motion of my mundane chores (study, rest, eat, shower, sleep) without thinking about it. It's really the-story-I -need-now given the current sociological perspective I have (sociologists will know what I'm trying to say - this society is artificial, loaded with social constructs that people created and happily forgotten.).

Adding on to that, there's the soundtrack to keep the feel of things going.

This may sound silly but if you'd read a really good book before, you'll roughly empathise with me, especially if you are a budding writer who tries to capture every little detail or emotion in words that can't seem to materialise.

Not just that - you'll only understand what I'm going through if you are a liberal arts student (ex-pure science student who got a whole bunch of A's but decide for a change.) who finally see the society for what it really is, and what it is not. I doubt I can truly express my current agony/ relief /anxiety about the turn-out of my education.

In the past, I'll just nod and say "yeah we need to study and get good grades, find a good job, support my parents, viola." (hello, as if we are born to think that way - no, we are actually socialised to speak that way)(don't pity me, because I'm no longer that naive kid who goes around crying because of an arbitrary grade that reflects nothing about the person's talents or real ability) - but now, if you indeed do ask the same question again, I'll definitely explain my previous answer in a completely different (sociological) perspective (so if you happen to be in college, please do take a module on sociology for fun).

And adding on to that I'll say "Education is a luxury that not every student who's attempting to get themselves educated will understand."

Like Panem, our world is artificial (not in the sci-fi way)
Like Panem,

Knowledge is Power.

There is a reason why some people just hate people like Katniss - but if you do think like her, I salute you, because it's the rule breakers who are the heralders of change.
Disclaimer *just for laughs*: (Herald-er is not a legitimate word, but languages are alive because they change.)(Things that don't change are usually relics in museums.)(Sorry, got carried away with the linguistic stuff I read in school.)

I realised I'm suppose to write about my trip to Korea! But heck, anything goes on this blog (for) now because I have no updates except that THE SUBSIDIES WERE GRANTED!!! (hopefully they keep their words)(I have immense distrust when it comes to such things, because some people just don't understand why a tiny subsidy can mean a WORLD to people who are tight on budget)


Anyway, if you happen to have any comments, feelings or dis-feelings, do feel free to write them below, I'll be more than happy to read + reply them.
***I was tempted to write I'll-be-more-than-happy-to-entertain-you but on second thought, I don't really entertain people with my writing unless I'm writing a novel (which I shall one day publish)(hard to think of a pen name though - would anyone care to look at a novel authored by someone called LI'AZ TEIRA?)
**Anyway, Good Night and Good Luck

May the Odds be Ever in Your Favour

(sorry, can't resist saying it in Effie Trinket's voice.)

2.04am