home to a blogger formerly known as lost
Funny
My phantom graduation
Jul 15th
This year I’d opted to fly home early to catch my cousin’s wedding, and since it didn’t make financial sense to fly back to the UK after that, I gave my graduation a miss. I don’t think I really missed much leaving earlier, but I do wish that I could have taken those cheesy graduation pictures with my friends. I’d (jokingly) discussed this with Shan and Lin (I think) before leaving, and we decided that they would take some pictures with gaps in them for me to Photoshop myself into.
I wasn’t exactly serious about doing it, but a few days ago I was tagged in a few photos on Facebook (as an empty space). I guess since they took the trouble to take those pictures, I should live up to my end of the bargain and insert myself into at least one of those shots… so today I embarked on my latest Photoshop mini-project.
It’s not really that well done (I couldn’t bring myself to spent that much time/effort on something I wasn’t actually at), but I do think it’s sufficiently amusing for our private enjoyment lah, huh?
Kabluey
Jul 2nd
I was recently being a little more adventurous with my movie trailer viewing (these days I usually only watch them if there are names I recognise involved) and saw the trailer for Kabluey. It’s an extremely intriguing trailer – it seems to start off as a pretty run-of-the-mill dysfunctional family film (kinda sad how those can be considered commonplace these days, huh?) but evolves into something totally whacky, cute and awesome all at the same time, once they introduce the pictured costume.
Definitely a movie I’d like to catch – hope it shows in Singapore, though it might possibly be given the miss.
Final flight
Jun 5th
Woohoo! I’ve struck gold at last!
So I’ve left the UK for the last time now – the next time I go there, if ever, I’ll likely be a tourist. For the final flight back, I’d used some of my miles to redeem an upgrade from economy to business class – I actually did this quite some time back, and had considered cancelling it after I was bumped up for free recently, but there was a penalty fee (in air miles) involved so I figured that having a comfortable ride home wasn’t really such a terrible thing after all =P
This time round I actually had full boarding pass privileges (previously they gave it to me only at the last minute, prior to boarding), so I was entitled to use the Fastlane for the security checks (essentially cutting down a 15min wait to a 2min one), as well as airport lounge access.
Unfortunately, the lounge at Manchester Airport wasn’t all that exciting. To be fair, it wasn’t a Krisflyer (or Star Alliance even) lounge, hopefully those are better (I’ll be finding out in a few days’ time), but at least it gave me somewhere comfortable to sit (and use complimentary internet), as well as providing a little bit of food to nibble on (as opposed to the usual airport BK breakfast). Much better than what I’m used to, but still nothing to shout about, really.
Lunch on board the plane certainly was (worth shouting about), though. With satay and a smoked fish salad as appetisers, followed by beef fillet for the main and ice cream for dessert, I was left a very happy passenger post-lunch.
I’d posted a picture of the business class seats before, but here’s one demonstrating how much they actually recline (when converting into sleeping mode). There’s a shell which stays pretty much stationary (so the passenger behind, if any, doesn’t really notice much of a change) but within the shell the seat somehow flattens out into a nearly-flat bed-like thingy. Not quite a proper bed, but definitely a far cry from economy class (note also the fluffier pillow provided).
Breakfast was not quite as delicious as lunch, but still pretty good anyway. I had the bubble and squeak, which is possibly the last English food I’ll be having for some time, which was surprisingly pretty good.
And so I’m back home now. Next flight review – the A380 to Tokyo! I’m booked for economy class, hoping for another free upgrade – but what’re the odds, really? Maybe that new-found Elite Gold status will helps. If not, well – at least there’s lounge access!
Bukit Molehill
May 17th
On retrospect it’s actually not that funny, but I thought I’d post it anyway because my art is uber-l33t.
Anyway, from a conversation with Lin – here’s a new Singlish/Manglish phrase I’ve coined, to be used when someone’s making a fuss over nothing. You just stare at him/her and say scoffingly, “Bukit Molehill lah!”.
Maybe one day this will catch on and I’ll be famous. =D
Watch out for your head!
May 3rd
Seen at Central, outside one of their toilets, much to my amusement. I can be so very childish.
Spongmonkeys 2
Mar 25th
I vaguely recall talking to someone about the Spongmonkeys recently (I’d actually blogged about them before, but didn’t really remember their name or the specifics of it all) and I find myself still amused by them, somehow.
Even more amusing to me, however, is this Star Wars version I found on YouTube.
Leap Day
Mar 1st
Today is the 29th February. I have a friend who was born in 1972, who insists that today he will turn 9. It’s not an argument worth having…. But the 29th February gives us each an opportunity to think back, and to think ahead.
So let me ask you, where were you four years ago on the 29th Feb? More importantly, who were you? What were the decisions and challenges facing your life? When you looked in the mirror, how did you feel about who you saw? What were your hopes, and your fears? Where were you in making sense of God and faith?
I received this email from the University Chaplaincy. I think it was supposed to spark off some insightful introspective exercise, but since I was still doing BMT back on 29 Feb 2004, I suspect the predominant thought would have been “KNN, how come got leap year during my service time, now have to serve one extra day…”
Amaizing
Feb 28th
You know your vision’s not that great when you look at the word “Computer” and see “Cornputer”.
That, or maybe you’re really hungry.
AH GOOD THE SEA
Feb 9th
This bit of chalk graffiti, found along Retreat Lane (a little alley somewhere between the university and the city centre), has long fascinated me. It is totally ungrammatical, but boldly asserts that – well, AH GOOD THE SEA.
I’ve often wondered what it meant. Adding to the curiosity was the fact that it’s been there all three years of my university life – and even before, according to the seniors! Surely there must be some deep meaningful story behind this mysterious phrase that causes people (students?) to restore it, year after year?
A Google search turned out a couple of sites, but all of them were specifically talking about the very same graffiti. ah-good-the-sea.com seemed to offer some hope at explaining this with the claim that it ‘was the working title for the Sponge Bob Square Pants movie’, but that turned out to be false. Apparently it used to (obviously, deliberately and hilariously erroneously) claim that it was ‘the first line of Moby Dick’.
So apparently nobody really knows the origin and meaning of the phrase.
Perhaps it’ll be interesting to add to the scrawl, maybe add to in using other languages. Some suggestions generated by Google Translate include…
啊深大海
あぁ、海の深い
Ah profundo del mar
But somehow, they all seem to lack the hypnotic catchiness of the original English form.
McDiploma
Feb 1st
If only I’d been born a little later, I wouldn’t have needed to go to JC for A-levels, I could have gone to McDonald’s instead.
And as if the previous post didn’t contain enough Lego goodness, here‘s a competition asking people to build Star Wars vehicles in the steampunk style, using Lego (again via I. Z. Reloaded). Most of the stuff there is amazing. This one here is perhaps not quite as cool as the others, but I thought it was pretty funny…
Imperial London Shuttle, based on the Imperial Lambda-class shuttle
