Kiddy

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - my very favourite book of the entire series so far. And, it's coming out with a BIG bang! Due to be out on November 17, not only in normal theatres but also in IMAX theatres - whippee! Finally, a reason to visit the Times Square IMAX theatre. Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort in 3D! I plan very much to watch this movie twice.

Zathura - Donald Trump sold me on the movie, because it was one of the marketing tasks for his latest Apprentice episode. It's a sort of Jumanji movie. Involves a board game and an outer space adventure. Opening November 24.

The Brothers Grimm - Only one reason to watch this: Heath Ledger. The other reason would be Matt Damon. Yummy-ness beginning November 24.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe - The book was only so-so, probably because I'm not a kid anymore. But, it'll probably make a very good movie involving all kinds of sweeping scenes and magnificent characters (in fact, the book reminded me very much of The Snow Queen). Coming to cinemas December 8.

Almost half-a-hundred ringgit to fulfill my upcoming movie fix. Better save abit.

But right now, it's spending-time in Bangkok. Be back with you all in 5 days. Have a happy Deepavali! :)

Gubra

I stumbled upon something which just made me swoon - from overwhelm-ness (if there's such a word).

The reason why Sepet was good was because it was true. It was a work straight from the heart of the director Yasmin Ahmad. And when something is that honest, you just can't help but feel overwhelmed.

I stumbled upon Yasmin Ahmad's very own blog. And while surfing through it, I realised that she is one person who can really speak of love, from all aspects, in all manners, in her very own manner. I can't get enough of her words, the way she writes. If you pop by there, you'll see that her latest entry featured a yummy picture of Gubra - her sequel to Sepet (which features the super-yummy Alan Yun and really attractive Sharifah Amani!). And if you surf more, you can fulfill your fix for all-things-Sepet-and-Yasmin-Ahmad by clicking on the photos which bring you to her flickr folder.

This is one of the poems from her blog, which I found really nice. I think I shall bookmark her site and slowly savour the archived entries. Her site is definitely a find! :)

3-day achievements

Accomplished this weekend:

• 7 episodes of Lost Season 1
• 2 episodes of The Apprentice Trump Season 4
• 1 episode of The Apprentice Martha
• 2 books from the Chronicles of Narnia
• The entire detailed itinerary of my Bangkok trip (down to the skytrain routes!)
• A 7-hour catch-up session with my girlfriends (which included a very nice dinner in this newly-opened Italian restaurant in SS2 called Buonasera - authentic Italian because it's cooked and served by real cute Italian men, I kid you not)
• A 90-minutes toil-and-sweat session at the Mattel toys warehouse sale to buy presents for my dad's "kai chai" (Barbie dolls going for RM12 and Hot Wheels car wash sets for RM37, it's no wonder the adults were as crazy as the kids)
• And of course, my 3-hour session at the Razor Edge hair saloon in 1Utama :)

Oh, to be a lady of leisure!

New hairstyle!

Can you note the oh-so-subtle differences?  

Bosses on leave for almost 2 weeks - wee!

Friday's a holiday, only for Selangor - wee!

I'm visiting the hairdresser's this weekend, wonder what new tortures shall I subject my hair to this time? Will it be purple highlights or biggie curls?

And oh, I've the entire 1st season of Lost to watch - wee!

Not to mention the entire 7-book collection of Chronicles of Narnia to read - wee!

The darling's only going away for 4 days and I've packed enough things to do to last me a month! :P

Nothing rejuvenates better than really good music.

Listening right now to Sheryl Crow :
Soak up the sun
Everyday's a winding road
A change will do you good (my very favourite!)
My favourite mistake
If it makes you happy

Wideacre

The theme of this book is slightly disturbing. And reading it made me feel like the protagonist was worse than Scarlett O'Hara, in terms of character. The story mostly surrounds incest spurred on by power-plays. It is set in a time of landlords and tenants, old-style farming and capitalist farming, well-bred ladies and independent power-hungry females. This book is the first in a trilogy, and is also the first book by Philippa Gregory. Earlier on, I had read The Queen's Fool and The Other Boleyn Girl - both very brilliant books that catch your attention from the very first page. She has a style of writing that keeps you flipping the pages.

Doesn't that girl on the cover look so Liv Tyler?

Anyway, deduction :
Recommended, most definitely, especially if you can deal with evil women.

Ticking

I have this slight obsession with time.

I hate being late, and would rather be early and wait. But once it's 2 minutes past, I start to fidget and grumble because I've been kept waiting.

I like to do countdowns. And of course, my daisypath announces my most important countdown at the moment - to Bangkok. And while we're at countdowns, it's less than 3 months to the new year. Time really flies. And I don't know at all what I've accomplished.

Which brings me to why my particular-ness with time is not a good thing. If I didn't think so much about time, I wouldn't be sitting here wondering what have I done the entire year. Actually, just so you feel bad along with me, what have you accomplished so far in 2005?

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If I could start all over again ...

I would finish my valuer's log book as soon as possible ...
(well, I've passed my first year, another year to go)

I would put in more effort into my Masters ...
(crossing my fingers that I passed my last semester's papers and I promise to come up with a good thesis)

I would learn to control my temper more and lose it a lot less ...
(actually, I've learnt that sometimes you've gotta show that temper, because oddly enough, some people actually only give you that respect you deserve when you raise your voice)

I would remember to be grateful and complain less ...
(to always be gratified - yes, something I'm still learning)

I would remind myself that I'm worth so much more, that I don't need to take crap from others, that I deserve ...
(I've gotta stick this quote up in my room la, because I admit I'm a pushover - and I'm even starting to irritate me)

I would learn to be happy with the things I have within, and learn to live without ...
(now this, is deep - and I can't remember what are the things I have "within" - must think about this)

I would, if I could ... and I can - so I will :)
(what a positive way to end this)

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But, I'm running off course. I didn't make any real goals this year to fulfill. But I'm grateful (see, I'm learning) that I've managed to find the discipline to complete my log book's 1st year. And really really grateful that I haven't yet lost sight of my goal to complete my thesis.

I'll still have this very slight obsession with time (I've got at least 3 calendars on my workdesk, excluding the one in the computer), but I'm glad :)

p/s I'm not complaining about my job today because my boss has bought me a new black Dell computer to replace my old crummy computer! My workdesk never looked this good ;)

The Myth

The Myth, starring Jackie Chan, Tony Leung, a very beautiful Korean actress (Kim Hee-Seun) and a very delicious-looking Bollywood actress (Mallika Sherawat). Maybe it's just that we've outgrown Jackie Chan, but I would like to think that if I were a decade-younger, I'd have thought this movie is great! Typical Jackie-stunts, lotsa pretty women, and an exotic setting. Good DVD material :)