Usually have a lot of things to say. Just no mood to blog. =x
25 years old.
NUS graduate.
Now earning a living as someone who has to speak properly, spell properly, write properly.
No I'm not working for Sesame street!
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Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Fun facts of Trent
He watched Nancy Drew the movie even though he's never read any of the books. Surprisingly the movie was pretty good. =x
All his life he's lost to his brother in academics (barring PSLE).
His scholar brother's A levels results:
A
A
A
A
Distinction
Distinction
Chinese AO: Did not take cos he got A2 for O levels higher chinese.
GP: B3
His A levels results:
A
D
D
(dropped 4th subject in J2 July)
No S paper
wtf he drop hisA level subject liao how can take simi S paper.
Chinese AO: A1. Had to take it cos he only got B3 for O levels higher chinese.
GP: A1
Yeah. he beat him in that.
Doesn't this make you sprout vulgarities when you realise you're reading a blog like this but hor,
he got A1 for his GP =x.
For the past few years, Trent has been a humble little boy, saying things like "aiyah the brits must be kok wan lah, i lidat also get A1 what the hell." or "taico wan lor. I dun even remember what I wrote during my exams."
BUT now, Trent says things like "It was nothing surprising really. My classy selection of words usually puts me head and shoulders above the rest. You could say my piece is a classic example of sprezzatura. Don't loathe me because I'm smart."
Yeah.
----------
*wakes up from unconscious mode*
Talked to my mum earlier bout my bro's results. Heh. She said he was lucky because despite his good results in the A levels subjects, scholarship boards usually look at GP as well and B3 was about the lowest they would accept. Wish I had a scholarship. =x
2nd day at school:
super busy whole day. FInally knocked off at 530pm can u believe it or not u stupid Ripleys you can add me in your database. Heh nah I enjoyed the afternoon because I was involved in an exhibition-fair (coined term by moi). Finally got my timetable. Looks decent.
Ah that's all for today.
I'm trying hard to update everyday. Fill it up with boliao stuff. Thanks for reading.
keke. <<< act cute attempt
triggering Mr Ng HS |
He watched Nancy Drew the movie even though he's never read any of the books. Surprisingly the movie was pretty good. =x
All his life he's lost to his brother in academics (barring PSLE).
His scholar brother's A levels results:
A
A
A
A
Distinction
Distinction
Chinese AO: Did not take cos he got A2 for O levels higher chinese.
GP: B3
His A levels results:
A
D
D
(dropped 4th subject in J2 July)
No S paper
wtf he drop hisA level subject liao how can take simi S paper.
Chinese AO: A1. Had to take it cos he only got B3 for O levels higher chinese.
GP: A1
Yeah. he beat him in that.
Doesn't this make you sprout vulgarities when you realise you're reading a blog like this but hor,
he got A1 for his GP =x.
For the past few years, Trent has been a humble little boy, saying things like "aiyah the brits must be kok wan lah, i lidat also get A1 what the hell." or "taico wan lor. I dun even remember what I wrote during my exams."
BUT now, Trent says things like "It was nothing surprising really. My classy selection of words usually puts me head and shoulders above the rest. You could say my piece is a classic example of sprezzatura. Don't loathe me because I'm smart."
Yeah.
----------
*wakes up from unconscious mode*
Talked to my mum earlier bout my bro's results. Heh. She said he was lucky because despite his good results in the A levels subjects, scholarship boards usually look at GP as well and B3 was about the lowest they would accept. Wish I had a scholarship. =x
2nd day at school:
super busy whole day. FInally knocked off at 530pm can u believe it or not u stupid Ripleys you can add me in your database. Heh nah I enjoyed the afternoon because I was involved in an exhibition-fair (coined term by moi). Finally got my timetable. Looks decent.
Ah that's all for today.
I'm trying hard to update everyday. Fill it up with boliao stuff. Thanks for reading.
keke. <<< act cute attempt
triggering Mr Ng HS |
Monday, June 25, 2007
Today's life.
Not bad. Everyone welcomed me back. It's good to be in a familiar environment.
Lesson: Not so good. Msg me to find out more. =(
Overall: A positive start!
Today's papers: A triathlon athelete died after he collapsed at the end of a race. He was 17.
Appreciate what we have. Memento mori.
triggering Mr Ng HS |
Not bad. Everyone welcomed me back. It's good to be in a familiar environment.
Lesson: Not so good. Msg me to find out more. =(
Overall: A positive start!
Today's papers: A triathlon athelete died after he collapsed at the end of a race. He was 17.
Appreciate what we have. Memento mori.
triggering Mr Ng HS |
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Jitters.
Just a bloody short note. Starting skool in a few hours' time.
Shower and sleep.
Peace out-side.
triggering Mr Ng HS |
Just a bloody short note. Starting skool in a few hours' time.
Shower and sleep.
Peace out-side.
triggering Mr Ng HS |
Monday, June 18, 2007
This is taken from Negolas' blog with the link on the left. He took a pic during an mrt ride.
Give you 10seconds to look at it.
It's a rooster with cleavage and lipstick! 0.0
And mascara. And is that a scarf on its neck?
Old joke
lil chick: Daddy, what's a transverstite?
daddy rooster: Shuddap and help me hang my bra out to dry.
It's an advertisement from Long John Silver's. Maybe it's a hen. But with an extended crop.
But I hope it's because they screwed up!
triggering Mr Ng HS |
Give you 10seconds to look at it.
It's a rooster with cleavage and lipstick! 0.0
And mascara. And is that a scarf on its neck?
Old joke
lil chick: Daddy, what's a transverstite?
daddy rooster: Shuddap and help me hang my bra out to dry.
It's an advertisement from Long John Silver's. Maybe it's a hen. But with an extended crop.
But I hope it's because they screwed up!
triggering Mr Ng HS |
Game time.
http://www.hallpass.com/media/gods15.html
*yawn*
Because I admit; I'm just that good. Sigh.
This game has a certain je ne sais quoi that makes it addictive. Try it! You can choose from many designs a hat for the hero. The one above, is a bread toaster. The bread comes in and out. Damn funny.
Some of my favs. About 75 designs in all!
Yes. I updated that thing on the left of the blog. Yes. I'm 25 years old. Yes. I enjoy playing these kinda games.
triggering Mr Ng HS |
http://www.hallpass.com/media/gods15.html
*yawn*
Because I admit; I'm just that good. Sigh.
This game has a certain je ne sais quoi that makes it addictive. Try it! You can choose from many designs a hat for the hero. The one above, is a bread toaster. The bread comes in and out. Damn funny.
Some of my favs. About 75 designs in all!
Yes. I updated that thing on the left of the blog. Yes. I'm 25 years old. Yes. I enjoy playing these kinda games.
triggering Mr Ng HS |
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Dinner.
After almost a year (I believe), Princess P and I finally went back to Changing Appetites at Marina Square. I used to have the 10% member card, but I lost it. Anyway, we had
some steak. not nice.
Cheese the chicken. >> damn nice!
It's chicken chop with melted cheese and a warm piece of mango below it. And 2 layers of this combination.
Didn't take pictures, BUT google is my friend.
(pic from http://foodpoof.wordpress.com/tag/types-of-restaurants/bistro/)
Damn nice. About $15 for this dish though =x. Worth it.
triggering Mr Ng HS |
After almost a year (I believe), Princess P and I finally went back to Changing Appetites at Marina Square. I used to have the 10% member card, but I lost it. Anyway, we had
some steak. not nice.
Cheese the chicken. >> damn nice!
It's chicken chop with melted cheese and a warm piece of mango below it. And 2 layers of this combination.
Didn't take pictures, BUT google is my friend.
(pic from http://foodpoof.wordpress.com/tag/types-of-restaurants/bistro/)
Damn nice. About $15 for this dish though =x. Worth it.
triggering Mr Ng HS |
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Super short story by Trent.
One night, Sandra woke up to noises coming from downstairs. She was only 8, but she was brave. Grandma told her there were no such things as ghosts in the world, so the only thing Sandra was afraid of at that moment was a burglar.
She peeped from the top of the stairway. There was no one. The door seemed locked and secure. Sandra waited for awhile before she went back to bed.
Sandra hugged her teddy bear and said, “Teddy don’t be scared. There are no such things as ghosts.”
triggering Mr Ng HS |
Cable tv prices are set to increase.
Dammit. Means extra $14 every month. Currently I'm only paying my phone bills. I think I'll take over the cable+internet fees from next month onwards. That's additional $100. Argh. But I should.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/281547/1/.html
No point talking about whether it's fair to increase or not. It's a done deal anyway. Monopolise the market. Slaves at your service. Maybe I should cancel it. Save $49 per month. Go hawker centre watch football? -_- Don't watch much anyway. Maybe cancel the sports channel (which is $25)? I watch starhub and axn the most. Hmmmmmmmmmm..........................
Anyone of you wanna move next to me, become my neighbour, subscribe to cable tv? I go your house watch. We share share bills lah. =D
"But not everything will cost more. StarHub will roll out two new channels at no extra charge. The History Channel and the Crime and Investigation Network Channel will be available to cable subscribers in mid-June."
I like the sound of the history channel.
triggering Mr Ng HS |
Dammit. Means extra $14 every month. Currently I'm only paying my phone bills. I think I'll take over the cable+internet fees from next month onwards. That's additional $100. Argh. But I should.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/281547/1/.html
No point talking about whether it's fair to increase or not. It's a done deal anyway. Monopolise the market. Slaves at your service. Maybe I should cancel it. Save $49 per month. Go hawker centre watch football? -_- Don't watch much anyway. Maybe cancel the sports channel (which is $25)? I watch starhub and axn the most. Hmmmmmmmmmm..........................
Anyone of you wanna move next to me, become my neighbour, subscribe to cable tv? I go your house watch. We share share bills lah. =D
"But not everything will cost more. StarHub will roll out two new channels at no extra charge. The History Channel and the Crime and Investigation Network Channel will be available to cable subscribers in mid-June."
I like the sound of the history channel.
triggering Mr Ng HS |
Ahoi hoi.
Went for eye check up today. Well, yesterday, since it's past midnight now.
Decided to try Acuvue lens instead of my original EncoreA.
My degree dropped again whoozah! Left eye dropped from 200 to 175. Right remains at 175.
Dunnoe how it drops, but it's not the first time. But it's such a small difference. It could be just because I chose A instead of B. You know when the optician gives you a choice between 2 frames and asks you which frame appears clearer. Anyway I certainly don't mind.
So let's see the things I've done. Again, in no order.
1) Caught Zodiac. Pretty good. Though once again I find myself questioning things here and there. Like why didn't the policeman do more research when he had leads. But well it's a true story. So those of you who have penchants for films based on true stories, here's your deal.
Note: I think it's only showing in cathay cineleisure, the cathay, vivocity.
2) Played mahjong twice during the past sundays. My first time was -gaspppppp- during last year's CNY period. I had a refresher course again. And ouch the 'school fees' came to SGD27 moolah. Ok lah that including dai dee. Dammit I can't gamble to save my life. Actually I did win abit at the BEGINNING, but at the end of every game. It's just like the flat end of the battery - ALWAYS NEGATIVE.
3) Went Omnimax theatre to watch Dinosaurs. 40mins. No kick man. But still, pretty comprehensive and to catch it on that very gigantic screen was great. Only downside was that it was on a saturday, and it was full house and there were many, many kids and they were very noisy. No I mean they were inquisitive. Yeah, that's right. Intelligent, curious kids. How I wish my parents brought me to see such stuff. Ok lah, they did brought me to the theatre once to see a Chinese play. About burglers in a town. Anyway Omnimax films are at $10 each. Next film will probably be Transformers (opening 28june). The robots don't look that awesome though.
4) Watched Kalifornia today.
No, it's not some cheesy spin-off from The O.C.
No, it's not misspelt.
It's this movie from 1993 starring Brad Pitt, David Duchovny, Juliette Lewis and Michelle Forbes. "A journalist duo go on a tour of serial killer murder sites with two companions, unaware that one of them is a serial killer himself." http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107302/.
Good. I like~
Thriler. Psychotic. Suspense. Southern Accent. Innocence. Philosophical. Disturbing. Sexual images. Violent. Creepy. Intriguing. A great way to spend 118mins of your time.
Pitt is good. This was one of his earlier films before he got really famous. It's interesting how actors can play their characters so well. The way they speak, the way they walk, their mannerisms and such. The sacrifices they make. Getting fat for the role. Or losing weight. Studying the type of people they gotta portray.
Then again, hollywood stars are paid in amounts I can only dream of. But what about the privacy they lose? Eh before I venture into a GP-like discussion, let's move on.
5) Read http://www.blurty.com/users/sleepless77/ . Blog of famous Singaporean playright-artist-poet Alfian Bin Sa'at. He had a stint as a relief teacher, but had his contract terminated with immediate effect. Find out why. Gotta scroll down and start from the beginning though.
6) Watched a bit of how Nadal beat Federer. I don't like how Nadal MOANS when he strikes the ball. It's worse when the female players do it. Does it really help in striking the ball?
7) Watched San Antonio Spurs play some fantastic bball. They lead 2-0 in the finals. Cavaliers is boring. It's just Lebron James. I find bball at it's most boring when the team just gives the ball to one player and he just posts up and scores. And repeats. Gotta admire the time and effort spent for them to perfect those shots though. Last week I was watching those 'greatest games'. Makes me reminisce about those players I watched. Tv sucks now. Everything's money money money. You'll never watch soccer or nba or anything on main channels. No wait. You get S-League every friday. Yay. When I was little I loved watching nba as well. Jordan, Pippen, John Paxon, Drexler, Barkley, Stockton, Grant Hill, Kemp. Long before the kobe bryant days.
There. I typed enough to last me a year!
triggering Mr Ng HS |
Went for eye check up today. Well, yesterday, since it's past midnight now.
Decided to try Acuvue lens instead of my original EncoreA.
My degree dropped again whoozah! Left eye dropped from 200 to 175. Right remains at 175.
Dunnoe how it drops, but it's not the first time. But it's such a small difference. It could be just because I chose A instead of B. You know when the optician gives you a choice between 2 frames and asks you which frame appears clearer. Anyway I certainly don't mind.
So let's see the things I've done. Again, in no order.
1) Caught Zodiac. Pretty good. Though once again I find myself questioning things here and there. Like why didn't the policeman do more research when he had leads. But well it's a true story. So those of you who have penchants for films based on true stories, here's your deal.
Note: I think it's only showing in cathay cineleisure, the cathay, vivocity.
2) Played mahjong twice during the past sundays. My first time was -gaspppppp- during last year's CNY period. I had a refresher course again. And ouch the 'school fees' came to SGD27 moolah. Ok lah that including dai dee. Dammit I can't gamble to save my life. Actually I did win abit at the BEGINNING, but at the end of every game. It's just like the flat end of the battery - ALWAYS NEGATIVE.
3) Went Omnimax theatre to watch Dinosaurs. 40mins. No kick man. But still, pretty comprehensive and to catch it on that very gigantic screen was great. Only downside was that it was on a saturday, and it was full house and there were many, many kids and they were very noisy. No I mean they were inquisitive. Yeah, that's right. Intelligent, curious kids. How I wish my parents brought me to see such stuff. Ok lah, they did brought me to the theatre once to see a Chinese play. About burglers in a town. Anyway Omnimax films are at $10 each. Next film will probably be Transformers (opening 28june). The robots don't look that awesome though.
4) Watched Kalifornia today.
No, it's not some cheesy spin-off from The O.C.
No, it's not misspelt.
It's this movie from 1993 starring Brad Pitt, David Duchovny, Juliette Lewis and Michelle Forbes. "A journalist duo go on a tour of serial killer murder sites with two companions, unaware that one of them is a serial killer himself." http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107302/.
You wouldn't believe this. I first saw this show on tv when I was in Secondary School, but for some reason I can't recall, I didn't finish it. I remembered it as chilling, and there was this quote from the movie which stuck in my head for years, which is:
When you dream, there are no rules.
So anyway I bought the vcd for $8, and watched it earlier.Good. I like~
Thriler. Psychotic. Suspense. Southern Accent. Innocence. Philosophical. Disturbing. Sexual images. Violent. Creepy. Intriguing. A great way to spend 118mins of your time.
Pitt is good. This was one of his earlier films before he got really famous. It's interesting how actors can play their characters so well. The way they speak, the way they walk, their mannerisms and such. The sacrifices they make. Getting fat for the role. Or losing weight. Studying the type of people they gotta portray.
Then again, hollywood stars are paid in amounts I can only dream of. But what about the privacy they lose? Eh before I venture into a GP-like discussion, let's move on.
5) Read http://www.blurty.com/users/sleepless77/ . Blog of famous Singaporean playright-artist-poet Alfian Bin Sa'at. He had a stint as a relief teacher, but had his contract terminated with immediate effect. Find out why. Gotta scroll down and start from the beginning though.
6) Watched a bit of how Nadal beat Federer. I don't like how Nadal MOANS when he strikes the ball. It's worse when the female players do it. Does it really help in striking the ball?
7) Watched San Antonio Spurs play some fantastic bball. They lead 2-0 in the finals. Cavaliers is boring. It's just Lebron James. I find bball at it's most boring when the team just gives the ball to one player and he just posts up and scores. And repeats. Gotta admire the time and effort spent for them to perfect those shots though. Last week I was watching those 'greatest games'. Makes me reminisce about those players I watched. Tv sucks now. Everything's money money money. You'll never watch soccer or nba or anything on main channels. No wait. You get S-League every friday. Yay. When I was little I loved watching nba as well. Jordan, Pippen, John Paxon, Drexler, Barkley, Stockton, Grant Hill, Kemp. Long before the kobe bryant days.
There. I typed enough to last me a year!
triggering Mr Ng HS |
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
The Super Casual Book Review by Trent.
Mammon Inc by Hwee Hwee Tan
Published 2001
I first got news of this book on the internet last year. It was prominent because the author was a local, and I thought the book won a prize or something (Found out the book was adapted for stage and won the 2004 Singapore Literature Prize http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hwee_Hwee_Tan)
. I read a review which slammed the author for tainting the image of the Chinese, but I didn’t read much, and I totally forgot about it until I found a copy in the school bookshop. Bought it. Started reading at least 2-3weeks ago, and I’ve FINALLY finished this book. It’s a normal small sized paperback book with 274pages, but it took me ages because of school. These couple of days I finished the remaining half of the book.
Because I’m such a lazy pig, I’ll simply type out what the summary is on the back cover of the book. Oh yeah, book review Trent-style alright.
Would you sell your soul for the dream job?
That’s the question that confronts Chiah Deng when she’s offered the chance join the twenty-something jet-setting elite, to enter the world of Hollywood stars, rock idols and fashion mavens.
Mammon Inc., the largest company in the world, is looking for a new Adaptor: someone who can teach their executives how to cross cultures.Born in Singapore and educated in Oxford, Chiah Deng thinks she’s the ideal candidate.But before they make her a globo-boss, Mammon demand that Chiah Deng pass three tests: first, she has to go to New Tork, to the ultra-hip Gen Ven party, and convince everyone that she is a member of the hipster-rati. Next, she has to teach her Chinese sister how to be white. Finally, she has to turn her white flat-mate, Steve, into a Chinese geek.
Professor Ad-oy, Chiah Deng’s mentor at Oxford, warns that Mammon Inc. is out to seduce her. Their symbol – the Red Dragon – is a sign of Satan. But Chiah Deng’s parents tell that the Chinese Red Dragon is a divine creature that will shower down blessings from heaven to her.
Who should she believe? Caught between her Christian guru and Taoist parents, Chiah Deng struggles to straddle the gap between East and West, chopsticks and credit cards.
Witty and unique, Mammon Inc. is the perfect allegorical satire for our e-everything world.
--
家灯。Yup that’s her Chinese name. Anyway, the first few chapters are quite slow and not so appealing, but it does set the backdrop of Chiah Deng’s mentality and family values, and allows the reader to infer the relationship between Chiah Deng and Steve. (Fortunately or unfortunately, there are no raunchy bits. No, the book did not talk about them having sex.)
Huh? Not interested liao? Eh wait lah read further..
The Oxford culture takes half the stage in this book, presumably because the author was a graduate from that college. She takes constant digs at Oxford, from racism to elitism. The other half of the stage is reserved for Singapore, where in her book she uses certain typical Singlish terms but explains them in context.
Like the plot synopsis above, the book highlights the seemingly world of differences between the British (especially people in Oxford) and Singaporeans. Hwee Hwee uses Chiah Deng’s sister – the typical Ah Lian wannabe – to exemplify the significant gulf in class and culture. In the book, the author also explores certain religious and philosophical issues. Throughout the story, Chiah Deng grapples with her own conscience, faiths and beliefs. Does she want Steve to become a Singlish-speaking, shopping crazy guy? Does she think her sister Chiah Deng has what it takes to be sophisticated and talk profound stuff instead of toys from Macdonalds? Is Christianity for her?
Hwee Hwee’s vocabulary is simply teh power. Damn cheem. But I enjoyed it. Another reason why I read books so slowly is because I tend to read every single word, and I try to understand words that I don’t understand from contextual clues (OMG that’s one technique out of my EL reading/writing lesson). Then I click on the dictionary (home internet) and find out the meaning and pronunciation. She also made references to many things, from Carrie Fisher’s haircut (Star wars Princess Leia) to Whistler’s paintings. Lots of arty farty, culture vulture stuff. I like. =x
The Singaporean dialogues are definitely authentic, but at some points Hwee Hwee explained the cultures differently from what I had learnt, and so I disagree. She criticised Singaporeans at some points, but the British weren’t let off either.
I am thinking I could actually recommend this book to secondary-JC students. It would totally benefit them, and the story has a little tingle to our hearts at home. Only pitfall is there are some (just some, not a lot) vulgarities and uncouth terms and phrases.
Overall:
4/5 stars!!
Read it if you like: Witty dialogue, impressive display of vocab, exposure to different cultures, criticism of Singaporeans, discussion of religion.
Don’t read it if you dislike: Slow pace story, plethora of descriptive words, anything in the above.
Borrow the book from me. Anytime.
triggering Mr Ng HS |
Mammon Inc by Hwee Hwee Tan
Published 2001
I first got news of this book on the internet last year. It was prominent because the author was a local, and I thought the book won a prize or something (Found out the book was adapted for stage and won the 2004 Singapore Literature Prize http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hwee_Hwee_Tan)
. I read a review which slammed the author for tainting the image of the Chinese, but I didn’t read much, and I totally forgot about it until I found a copy in the school bookshop. Bought it. Started reading at least 2-3weeks ago, and I’ve FINALLY finished this book. It’s a normal small sized paperback book with 274pages, but it took me ages because of school. These couple of days I finished the remaining half of the book.
Because I’m such a lazy pig, I’ll simply type out what the summary is on the back cover of the book. Oh yeah, book review Trent-style alright.
Would you sell your soul for the dream job?
That’s the question that confronts Chiah Deng when she’s offered the chance join the twenty-something jet-setting elite, to enter the world of Hollywood stars, rock idols and fashion mavens.
Mammon Inc., the largest company in the world, is looking for a new Adaptor: someone who can teach their executives how to cross cultures.Born in Singapore and educated in Oxford, Chiah Deng thinks she’s the ideal candidate.But before they make her a globo-boss, Mammon demand that Chiah Deng pass three tests: first, she has to go to New Tork, to the ultra-hip Gen Ven party, and convince everyone that she is a member of the hipster-rati. Next, she has to teach her Chinese sister how to be white. Finally, she has to turn her white flat-mate, Steve, into a Chinese geek.
Professor Ad-oy, Chiah Deng’s mentor at Oxford, warns that Mammon Inc. is out to seduce her. Their symbol – the Red Dragon – is a sign of Satan. But Chiah Deng’s parents tell that the Chinese Red Dragon is a divine creature that will shower down blessings from heaven to her.
Who should she believe? Caught between her Christian guru and Taoist parents, Chiah Deng struggles to straddle the gap between East and West, chopsticks and credit cards.
Witty and unique, Mammon Inc. is the perfect allegorical satire for our e-everything world.
--
家灯。Yup that’s her Chinese name. Anyway, the first few chapters are quite slow and not so appealing, but it does set the backdrop of Chiah Deng’s mentality and family values, and allows the reader to infer the relationship between Chiah Deng and Steve. (Fortunately or unfortunately, there are no raunchy bits. No, the book did not talk about them having sex.)
Huh? Not interested liao? Eh wait lah read further..
The Oxford culture takes half the stage in this book, presumably because the author was a graduate from that college. She takes constant digs at Oxford, from racism to elitism. The other half of the stage is reserved for Singapore, where in her book she uses certain typical Singlish terms but explains them in context.
Like the plot synopsis above, the book highlights the seemingly world of differences between the British (especially people in Oxford) and Singaporeans. Hwee Hwee uses Chiah Deng’s sister – the typical Ah Lian wannabe – to exemplify the significant gulf in class and culture. In the book, the author also explores certain religious and philosophical issues. Throughout the story, Chiah Deng grapples with her own conscience, faiths and beliefs. Does she want Steve to become a Singlish-speaking, shopping crazy guy? Does she think her sister Chiah Deng has what it takes to be sophisticated and talk profound stuff instead of toys from Macdonalds? Is Christianity for her?
Hwee Hwee’s vocabulary is simply teh power. Damn cheem. But I enjoyed it. Another reason why I read books so slowly is because I tend to read every single word, and I try to understand words that I don’t understand from contextual clues (OMG that’s one technique out of my EL reading/writing lesson). Then I click on the dictionary (home internet) and find out the meaning and pronunciation. She also made references to many things, from Carrie Fisher’s haircut (Star wars Princess Leia) to Whistler’s paintings. Lots of arty farty, culture vulture stuff. I like. =x
The Singaporean dialogues are definitely authentic, but at some points Hwee Hwee explained the cultures differently from what I had learnt, and so I disagree. She criticised Singaporeans at some points, but the British weren’t let off either.
I am thinking I could actually recommend this book to secondary-JC students. It would totally benefit them, and the story has a little tingle to our hearts at home. Only pitfall is there are some (just some, not a lot) vulgarities and uncouth terms and phrases.
Overall:
4/5 stars!!
Read it if you like: Witty dialogue, impressive display of vocab, exposure to different cultures, criticism of Singaporeans, discussion of religion.
Don’t read it if you dislike: Slow pace story, plethora of descriptive words, anything in the above.
Borrow the book from me. Anytime.
triggering Mr Ng HS |
Saturday, June 02, 2007
hola.
am back from KL.
when i'm in da mood i'll post some peektures up.
it's june already! Holidays for me!
triggering Mr Ng HS |
am back from KL.
when i'm in da mood i'll post some peektures up.
it's june already! Holidays for me!
triggering Mr Ng HS |