Bittersweet Symphony

South Africa

2009-10-14T15:46:09Z

So it's been 3 weeks since I got back from South Africa but i find myself constantly thinking about our time there. There's something magical and magnetic about that country.

People have been asking me "So how's South Africa?", "How was the trip? The safari?" and i find it hard to sum up the experience in a way that does it justice.

In a way, for me, it's like listening to Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, Sigur Ros, Jack Johnson and Morcheeba on shuffle. Like having a refreshing bottle of ice cold beer followed by a glass of pinot noir.

Above all, it was a wonderful experience - from the sights to the seafood, the spectacular sunsets that photos can never do justice to, and the cheap good wine. Above all, it was the people we met along the way. Thomas and David who showed us how to party like the Zambians do, Kim and Magnum our guides at the safari, and all those taxi drivers in cape town.

I also couldn't ask for a better bunch of people to experience SA with.

Pictures to follow soon - lotsa giraffes, zebras, lions, landscapes, sunsets and plenty of goofing around.

listening to "New Kids On The Block / Keep On Smilin' - " on Blip

2009-06-25T07:36:26Z

Did a quiz online and this is my NKOTB song

listening to "Dave Matthews Band #41 - " on Blip

2009-06-24T01:59:40Z

listening to "John Mellencamp Hurt So Good - " on Blip

2009-06-24T01:18:42Z

This always takes me back to Melbourne International Backpackers. Where i spent most of my nights accompanied by friends and ice cold Carlton Draught

listening to "toad the wet sprocket - 1992 - all i want - " on Blip

2009-06-23T02:47:28Z

Seems like i'm in a 90s mood today :)

listening to "Collective Soul Home_09 World I Know - " on Blip

2009-06-23T01:31:01Z

So i walk upon high and i stuck to the edge to see the world below...

manndy @ 2009-06-17T22:54:00

2009-06-17T14:54:23Z

Took a cab home after work and dinner tonight. The taxi uncle was listening to a selection of music which was pretty sweet, in my opinion - Eric Clapton's Layla, followed by Soldier of Fortune, Seagull by Bad Company... and singing along!

So eventually when Hotel California came on, i said, "oh uncle, this is the version with the long intro."

He thought i'd never even heard of The Eagles, and when i said i practically grew up with the music he's listening to, he started talking and skipping tracks and telling me all about "Black SabBAH" and "Lod Stewart".

As he was passing me my change, he stopped the CD player, took out the disc and gave it to me... saying he really enjoys talking to people who love music, and hope i enjoy his compilation of "classical songs from the 70s".

I feel really good about it. sometimes you strike up conversations with virtual strangers and it makes your day so much better. I'm gonna resolve to talk to strangers more often from now on.

I still can't believe the uncle gave me a compilation CD of classic rock.

Gorecki

2009-06-15T16:16:12Z

I was bored so i decided to do a meme.

lRULES:
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Knockin on Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
My Sweet Lord - George Harrison (ermmmm......)

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Those magic changes - Grease OST

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
There goes the fear - Doves

WHAT’S YOUR MOTTO?
Shine on you crazy diamond - Pink Floyd

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Gatecrasher part 1 - DJ Tiesto

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Getaway - Stereophonics

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Riders on the storm - The Doors

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
Attitude – Suede

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Shoulder Holster - Morcheeba

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Flipside – EBTG

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
The secret place – Brian Eno

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
On The Run – Pink Floyd

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Shh – Frou Frou

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Today (Trance ambient mix) - Paul Van Dyk (haha. Debs always wanted trance at hers!)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
As you are – Travis

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Good Enough – Sarah McLachlan

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Burn one down – Ben Harper

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
Lightning Crashes – Live

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Andromeda – Chicane

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Gorecki – Lamb

I'm tagging whoever still reads this. so die hard!

manndy @ 2008-12-01T22:09:00

2008-12-01T14:09:52Z

With my phone dying on me last Friday, i started getting a bit paranoid, and got down to backing up my data from my mac.

at the same time, i was looking through old photos, especially of my student days in melbourne... there were a few of when bruce and i just started dating. young and silly, we looked like there was no care in the world. That all we needed was to be happy together and everything would work itself out.

three years down, that is still true. just less obvious. we are so caught up with things happening around us - our jobs, material ambitions, quest for recognition - that we forget these things pass and don't really matter in the bigger scheme of things.

Friday night, we sat at eM long after the rest had gone back, just talking and having Chimay. we spoke of silly things, complained about the futility of corporate slavery and laughed about random whatnots.

times like that remind me that it's still me and him against the world. everything falls into place somehow.

Note to those involved...

2008-01-13T16:03:39Z

... in last Friday's madness:

WE ARE NO LONGER 18! Alcohol cannot be consumed in such quantities without having to live through after-effects the ENTIRE weekend.

It was fun while it lasted though...

Now to ensure those photos never see the light of day.

No More Whoppers?!?

2008-01-04T11:41:41Z

This is creative marketing.

manndy @ 2007-12-01T13:34:00

2007-12-01T05:38:25Z

Yesterday was my farewell drinks with the PN-ers. Over jugs of margaritas and servings after servings of nachos and chimichangas, we laughed, teased and caught up on conversations entirely unrelated to work. It was heaps of fun. When the night ended, it also signaled the end of that episode of my career.

A new job, new challenges and a new life await me.

Van Buuren brothers

2007-11-30T03:21:59Z

To anybody who's considering ZoukOut. :)
Amazing.

I'm a music purist. so sue me.

2007-11-15T11:11:55Z

Eddie and I were discussing music today. Both fans of 90s Brit-alternative-rock music, we bemoaned the loss of our favourite bands... Suede, Pulp, Placebo, Blur, The Verve, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins and the list goes on.

I tell Eddie how my iPod has so few new songs cause my ears literally hurt when i listen to the likes of The Black Eyed Peas. Eddie says that someone went through his iPod once and concluded that he was sick in the head because he had everything from The Spice Girls to Teresa Teng to Stone Temple Pilots.

I told him i couldn't speak to him anymore.

This will be the last you hear of Eddie.

I'm back to listing top-fives. Today, because i'm going all nostalgic and having Brit fever, it will be...

TOP 5 Songs from 90s Brit Bands that brings me back to simpler days based on my mood today.
(in no particular order)

1. Handbags and Gladrags - Stereophonics
2. The Drugs Don't Work - The Verve
3. Animal Nitrate - Suede
4. Live Forever - Oasis
5. High and Dry - Radiohead

What's yours?

manndy @ 2007-11-01T16:19:00

2007-11-01T08:36:18Z

I've just experienced the worst hangover morning in a very long time. It was a dizzy mixture from the night before: some Jim Beam, some Absolut and ALOT of wine, both red and white.

It was supposed to be an easy catch-up kinda night with Kim, Brandon and Song. Song and i left the lovebirds alone for dinner and headed to La Forketta at Dempsey where i had an amazing pasta dish with sweet juicy prawns and freshly-made pesto. Song had a pizza which was equally yummy.

Kim and Brandon were supposed to join us at wine connection after that, but Brandon came up with this idea which involved an 80s card game called Mind Trap. He thought it would be tons of fun and convinced Song and i to head over to Kim's to play and have drinks.

Alot of drinks and perhaps about an hour or so later we got bored with Mind Trap and Tai-di and someone suggested playing "I Have Never ..." I know, i know, it's the kinda thing you play in Secondary school and Uni. But we had tons of fun anyway - anyway we were among close and trusted friends, and it didn't matter what manner of skeletons were let out of the closet.

***WARNING - gross bits ahead***

3am. Stumbled out of Kim's and into a cab, got home and took a shower. At this point, some churning was going on in my stomach and threatening to come up with vengeance. So. i puked my guts out. And it's a disgusting reminder to myself to:

1. Stop drinking so much
2. Stop mixing my alcohol
3. At breaking point, DO NOT PUKE - i know various people who espouse puking while pissed drunk, because it apparently makes them feel better. Not for me... i feel tons worse if i let it all out.
4. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.
5. Sleep with windows open, fan on, aircon off. fresh air always helps.
6. Indulge in hangover food the next morning
7. Have a glass of water with berocca

Thank goodness i'm on leave today.

Of blokes and ah lians

2007-10-31T08:56:41Z

A friend and I have these regular chats about the nature of relationships - he calls me a bloke on heels and i simply call him a bloke. So here we are - two blokes, except one is anatomically and (once a month) emotionally female. But i digress.

Today he tells me about this girl he's working with. You know the type: cute, perky ass, low-cut tops, dazzling sultry smile. Essentially a girl who gets her way around hot-blooded men.

According to him, she's a bitch in tight clothing and she's not getting her way - not if he has anything to do with it - immune to her charms and wiles, apparently. Naturally, my reaction is "yeah right". But knowing my friend (let's just call him Eddie), I half believe him.

Eddie is one of those guys who enjoys the thrill of the chase. He loves girls with attitude and it helps if they have a nice booty to, well, boot. Doesn't matter if they look gorgeous - in fact, if they look kinda Plain Jane but have the confidence of Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron and Natalie Portman combined, he'll be drooling like a little puppy.

That said, Eddie is the first guy that has confirmed that ALL Singaporean men have an Ah Lian fantasy.

If that isn't complicated enough, the girl-in-question needs to be able to hold a witty conversation, drink him under the table and must absolutely have no inner whiny-needy-tantrum-throwing beast.

And guys say women are complicated.

As a woman in a cosmopolitan Singapore, or any other cosmo city for that matter, you're expected to be independent enough to not want to bother the man when he wants space, yet not aloof or risk being called hard-to-get. You also need to make up your own mind, yet value the man's opinion. You must be sexy but not skanky (although sometimes, under strict supervision you might be allowed to be). You must tolerate his penchant for 'undesirable material' but not be too overt in ogling Calvin Klein Underwear models. You can't be drama and pick fights all the time, yet you cannot be too submissive.

Of course the list goes on...what it comes down to, of course is this game. As an old friend once told me: "Relationships are like a game of tennis. you're at an advantage when the ball's in your court." Erm. OKAY. (It's a funny quotable quote, as long as you don't say you got it from this blog.) I'd like to think the game is more primal than men in tight white shorts hitting a yellow ball to and fro, though.

Guess it's a discussion reserved for another round of happy hour beers.

manndy @ 2007-10-30T17:46:00

2007-10-30T10:03:59Z

I've been lazy, yes. When i started this blog, it was with the intention of keeping the peeps back home about my life in melbourne. Since i've been back, though, all i've done is post random photos and lyrics.

So, while my life is undergoing some change now, i've decided to be more disciplined about documenting my existence.

watch this space. :)

Bruce and Jakey

2007-09-17T03:56:47Z

(photo courtesy of Pam)

Taken in Melbourne when Pam's younger boy turned one :) Check out the wide grins.
I wanna pinch his cheeks!! (Jake's)

P8040191.JPG

2007-08-31T08:57:04Z

P8040191.JPG
Originally uploaded by manndy.

lying on the lawn with a cuppa bitter-cream, good book and eye candy.
Ahh, how i miss Melbourne.

manndy @ 2007-08-12T10:01:00

2007-08-12T02:10:58Z

Bruce is here! :D

Arrived in the early hours of the morning yesterday... i was still sleeping and Paul went to pick him up from Spencer St. It seems he wasted no time. He hopped into the car and said to Paul "Let's go for coffee at Chapel". Coffee at Chapel (other than the fact that the lattes are amazing at Amici's) means perving at the girls who, despite the frigid weather, still wear super short dresses to strut down the street.

We ended up having dinner at Mercadente, where Bruce used to work. Incidentally, Mercadente is also the place where Bruce and i had our first dinner while we were getting to know each other. It's also the place where our parents had lunch before heading out on that bizarre trip to the Great Ocean Rd.

We then headed to Kitten Club (the one Song calls Pussy Palace) and got kinda sloshed. Wish i'd brought my usb cable now so that i could upload some of the pics we took.

Baby, I'm Ho-ome!!

2007-08-09T01:51:37Z

Stepped out of the airport today and breathed in a nice lungful of crisp, Melbourne air. I savoured the moment by just standing around in the August cold and thinking... i'm home.

I've talked so much about missing melbourne, even more when the trip was impending. Now i'm here, and i'm simply relishing it. I would post pictures, but i totally forgot to being the USB cables, so photos will have to wait.

It does feel like i've never left. It was always a fear of mine that when i do come back eventually, the image of melbourne in my mind would crumble because i put it up on such a pedestal. But the reality is just that i love this place that was my home. The place i lived in and fell in love with.

I'm at peace here.

Rasta Bar from my recent trip to Phuket

2007-06-11T14:02:46Z

P5140106.JPG
Originally uploaded by manndy.

The coolest, most laid-back bar in the world. I painted "One Love" on one of the seats.

This Day in Tech

2007-06-05T10:05:55Z

June 5, 1977:

From a Little Apple a Mighty Industry Grows

Photo: Wired.com

1977: The Apple II, the world's first "practical" personal computer, goes on sale.

Featuring an integrated keyboard, built-in BASIC programming languages, expandable memory, a monitor capable of color graphics, a sound card and expansion slots, the Apple II resembles today's modern desktops in the way a '38 Plymouth resembles a Cadillac Escalade. Cruder, perhaps, with fewer bells and whistles, but a smoothly functioning machine nevertheless.

Think about how far we've come since then.

Movie meme - I've watched 101 shows on this list :p

2007-06-01T06:42:06Z

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 films, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own facebook account, paste this as a note. Then, put x's next to the films you've seen, add them up, change the header adding your number, and click post at the bottom. Have fun.

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x ) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
(x) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
( ) Blazing Saddles
( ) Airplane

Total: 8

( ) The Princess Bride
(x) AnchorMan
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
( ) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
(x) White Oleander
(x) Anger Management
(x) 50 First Dates
( ) The Princess Diaries
( ) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

Total so far: 13

(x) Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
(x) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
(x) American Pie 2
(x) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp

Total so far: 18

( ) Harry Potter 1
( ) Harry Potter 2
( ) Harry Potter 3
( ) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
( ) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch

Total so far: 20

(x) Finding Nemo
(x) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch
(x) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
(x) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
(x) Butterfly Effect
(x) 13 Going on 30
( ) I, Robot
( ) Robots

Total so far: 28

( ) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
( ) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( ) Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
( ) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
( ) KING KONG

Total so far: 31

( ) A Cinderella Story
(x) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving X-MAS
( ) Flubber

Total so far: 35

(x) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
(x) Secret Window
(x) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
(x) The Whole Ten Yards

Total so far: 42

( ) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
(x) Just Married
(x) Gothika
( ) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
( ) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask

Total so far: 47

( ) Bad Boys
(x) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Seven
(x) Ocean's Eleven
(x) Ocean's Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
(x) Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
( ) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George

Total so far: 53

( ) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(x) ET
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan – I’m so embarrassed to admit this.
( ) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
( ) Rush Hour 2

Total so far: 56

( ) Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She's All That
(x) Calendar Girls
(x) Sideways
( ) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
( ) The Terminator 2
( ) The Terminator 3

Total so far: 64

(x) X-Men
(x) X-2
(x) X3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2

Total so far: 75

( ) Swimfan
( ) Miracle on 34th street
( ) Old School
(x) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf's Tribe
(x) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
( ) The 40-year-old Virgin

Total so far: 77

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
( ) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
( ) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
( ) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
( ) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
( ) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Total so far: 78

( ) Baseketball
(x) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(x) Elf
( ) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
(x) American History X
( ) Three

Total so Far: 81

( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(x) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard

Total so far: 85

( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
(x) Dawn Of the Dead
( ) Hook
( ) Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
( ) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
( ) Waterworld

Total so far: 86

(x) Kill Bill vol 1
(x) Kill Bill vol 2
(x) Mortal Kombat
(x) Wolf Creek
(x) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness

Total so far: 91

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor

Total so far: 97

(x) The Matrix
( ) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
(x) Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal

Total so far: 101

manndy @ 2007-05-21T18:43:00

2007-05-21T11:23:56Z

I would do anything for a nice walk down Lygon St with a steaming cup of trotter's latte and my iPod plugged in right now.

When you're in the moment and wondering how you'll remember it, you think "perhaps i'll remember that guy serving me coffee at trotters and his cheeky wink and maybe the crisp, cold air and biting winds. Perhaps i'll remember it as the walk to the library - my defining moments as a student".

But when i think about it now though, i think of calm solitude. I remember that for some oddball reason, whenever i pass by Cardigan St, i'll choose to listen to The Verve's acoustic version of 'On Your Own'. The blue of the cloudless sky, the not-so distant ramble and 'ding-ding' of the distinctive trams, and knowing that both peaches and chloe are comfy at home.

I recall the bittersmooth of the trotters coffee, and the warmth of the outdoor restaurant heaters. And how I fell in love with the city that i made my own home in.

People ask me to explain why i keep going on about the place. I've been told - it's not the place, it's the people that made the place. Of course the people made it so much so much sweeter. Yet when i think about melbourne, i mostly think of the times i spent alone. How much i hated being alone at dusk in my apartment, but savoured every minute of the night.

I hated how the movies would come out so much later than singapore. but that little shop around the corner with all my classic cult favourites made that irrelevant (i forget the name but remember the smell and where I can find Raging Bull).

Most days i pray-hope that when i go back it won't be different. That my second home will be the same way i left it. My parting looks were bleary teary-eyed, every corner the cabby turned made me boohoo so much more. So my parting snapshots were out of focus and tinged with sadness.

I wanna go back, take a walk, breathe, experience it once again... and remember it the way it's meant to be... whatever that is.