Bonus!

"I am a deeply superficial person"

-Andy Warhol

Yay, bonus. Need I say more?

Right Now...

"I want freedom for the full expression of my personality."

-Mahatma Gandhi

Obsession  is key

When it comes to K-drama

No signs of stopping

Freak Out

"A moment's insight is sometimes worth a lifetime's experience."

-Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

A sudden change in the sermon theme has put me in a state of panic mode. And then I let it go. I'm at a point in my life where being screwed over is not even a surprise anymore. It's a state of being. 

Sad. But true.

I could make last minute changes. I'm still thinking about it. In the end, I'm doing this for God no matter how insignificant so, goodbye pride, I'll just put you in my back pocket for the time being. You just stay snug and warm till the next self-righteous rampage.

Christmas Tidings

"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas."

-Calvin Coolidge

By now, everyone in the office is busy clearing leave and making plans for the holidays. No one is really in the mood for work; students are having term tests and the year is winding down to a slow and steady halt. Even I am anticipating the impending food fest with my friends and am looking forward in doing more explorations in Singapore- visit new places and hang out in my favourite haunts. 

Working on the Christmas skit was a challenge since I have no inspiration whatsoever. Anything that appears on stage on the 25th is all God; I'm not even trying to be modest here. I put it off for days, weeks because I had writer's block. I have no inkling how I could make it work and so I did the next (the only thing, actually) best thing. I waited.

A 5 minute skit may not seem like a big deal but it is to me since I've always (confession time!) had issues with skits from previous years and so I better bring it. Still, I trust that it will go down well because it's simple, straight forward and tongue in cheek. Looking behind the scenes gives me brand new perspective at the huge issues making connections between the sermon and the skit (it's crazy man) and so I purposely address that (kinda) in a round about way. Something like an easter egg for me if you will.

Book Review: The Book of Human Skin by Michelle Lovric

"The best part – and the only part – of a novel that gives unalloyed pleasure is the idea. That descends in three seconds usually. I always say that the difference between this stage and delivering a finished book is similar to the difference between having an orgasm and having a baby. Perhaps this is why so many people talk about writing, and not so many can deliver a finished manuscript."

-Michelle Lovric

What makes this book so fascinating is, of course the title. Call me shallow but I do tend to judge a book by its cover. I eye the title and the cover design, then I seek out the synopsis at the back, weighing the worthiness of reading what the author has to say. 

And it's tough when you are reading a book by someone you never read before. But I'm glad I did.

What's Good
Michelle chose to write from several characters' point of views. Namely, the villains, Minguillo Fasan and Sor Loreta; Marcella Fasan (the sister), Dr Santo Albobrandin (the hero, well, sort of) and Gianni (the manservant). I use the phrase "villain" loosely here because both Minguillo and Loreta didn't stand a chance to be anything else but be evil/bad. 

But I digress.

Why this format works is because it allows the reader to form a relationship with each of the five central characters. I can't tell how many times I want to whack Gianni on the head when I disagree with his actions, cringe at Minguillo's terrible acts against his sister and eerily drawn to the reality Sor Loreta painted for herself.

I'm a sucker for descriptive words and so Michelle drew me in with the semi-historical landscape of Venice and Peru. I can imagine the look and the smell of each character; the vivid colours of the convent and the horror that lies in wait for Marcella.

There are many lessons one can draw from Sor Loreta and Minguillo, more so than the "good" guys. Which is not to say they are not interesting, but Michelle has created such interesting villains with so much dimension and flaw, they have this push-pull factor for me.

What's Bad

I understand the need for realism but the crappy spelling for Gianni's character is just too much. Half the time I'm trying to decipher what he's trying to say and the phonetic spelling for 80% of the words is just exhausting. Trivial? I think not! When you are depending on what the character is saying to get to the meat of the story, you better know what the story teller is saying!

The way the story ends is satisfactory. I don't exactly hate it but there are one or two issues that Michelle touched on but never really explore. Like Marcella trying to figure out why Minguillo hates her so much. I figured she wants to leave it open ended but this is purely nit picking on my part.

All in all, a beautiful/scary story (I can imagine this turning into a screenplay), but I'm not exactly jumping out of my seat salivating for more of Michelle's books. That's not to say it wasn't a good book, but to me, it's just didn't have that wow factor. 

I suppose part of the reason is the slow pace. So many things are happening in the book, but it doesn't feel that way. That's the weakness of second hand account storytelling. When someone is telling you the bomb exploded, it's not as exciting as reading right off the bat that the bomb did explode.

The Verdict

I don't hate the story but for me, it's not one of those books that fall under the "Books you must read before you die".

Getting to Know You

"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."

-Dorothy Nevill

First, an introduction. I won't bore the readers with frivolous information like which school I attended or what degree I graduated in. I won't say which company I work at or how long. Such nuggets of self-proclaimed facts will be revealed eventually.

Instead, I'll tell you what you can expect from this blog. Endless rambles of nothing and something important in my life's observation (Aren't most blogs like that?) and hopefully reviews of books, movies, plays etc and whatever comes to mind.