you need more to impress me
written: 4:43 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 02, 2002

I also bought a hard cover version of Sarah Dessen's new novel, This Lullaby, which costs S$30. It was a spur of the moment thing. I just took the book and made my way to the cashier and paid for my stuff, with my bank card. My heart kind of hurts now. S$30, man. S$30.

Because I took a different route home, and because that route passes the restaurant Gen works in, I gave him a surprise visit. I was in my uniform and I was standing outside, looking in, and he saw me and he waved to me. He was doing something behind the counter so he told me to wait. I went to get myself a drink, and after a while he caught up with me. We sat down in his restaurant and talked for a while. He is really sweet. I mean, really. He completely understands that I don't really have time to see him as I have my exams and everything, and he prefers it that way, kind of, because he doesn't want to disturb me.

What a cutie. He doesn't disturb me at all. If I'm not with him, I'm home online until 6.30, and then I eat, and I watch Friends at 7.30 and start work at 8. Either way, it's time wasting, and I'd rather waste my time with him than with the computer. But I don't really have a choice, and it's because of me mom. But what the hell. I'm over it.

He can't take next Thursday off, which is too bad, but it solves a lot of problems for me because my mom said she'd take me to see the movie at night, and I was thinking of going to his place after school but the lying is simply too much for the conscience, so I suppose it's good, in a way, that I don't have a choice anymore. I detest having to make decisions as it's just too hard.

On a different note. I passed an E Maths test, and not just that; I aced it. 30/40. Man. I'm a genius. But I spent the night before trying to figure how the hell to do central statistics, like the median and all that nonsense, and I still got it wrong. That really sucks. But what can I do.

Skipped lunch today as the drink I got was a Coke (it was choosing between Coke, Diet Coke, mineral water, which costs 2 dollars, and hot beverages, and I had to go with Coke) and it made me full. Now my stomach is totally feeling the repercussions of skipping bloody lunch.

The Chinese teacher let the class watch a Hong Kong movie during Chinese, called Forever and Ever (trust me when I say the title in Mandarin is way better). Because it was filmed in Hong Kong, the movie was dubbed in Mandarin which took something away from the movie. I'm the type of person who has to watch a movie in its original language. I'd rather read subtitles than listen to the disgusting dubbing done by some weird Taiwanese actors who whine and whine, and the kids sound totally unnatural and shitty, but because the subtitles were at the bottom of the screen and I was sitting behind, I couldn't read them so I had to settle for dubbing.

For some reason a lot of my classmates found it touching. I didn't. The movie is about a boy who was born with haemophilia and grew up to 20-something years old, but unfortunately got infected with the HIV virus while going through a blood transfusion, or whatever it's called. The scene that made everyone go 'wow' was when he sat in his room in total darkness and covered up the window with a piece of black cloth with a hole in the middle, so that the only way light can enter is through the hole. He is a Christian. The light shone through and hit the crucifix on his desk, and the classmates were wowing here and there and I was just sitting there, thinking, okay, that's nice.

There is something about the direction and the way the movie was laid out that did nothing for me. The story is told through a series of flashbacks, and you know in the beginning that the boy eventually dies. And the movie jumps from the present to the past and back again, and I think it seriously undermined the effect of the strong emotions in the film. There is this other girl who is HIV positive, called Fion, and her name made me sick. I don't know why. I also don't know why they have to interject English phrases into the dialogue. Like when the son blew up at the mother and made her cry. He was like, "Mommy [in Mandarin], sorry ah." I did not like it at all.

I also don't like movies with an obvious religious theme that obviously preaches. I'm thinking this is different because it was based on real-life events, but I have enough of Christ-centered preaching from my school principal every Monday morning, thank you very much.

Dammit, I just wasn't touched the way my classmates were. I've seen sadder movies and better-filmed ones. And better-dubbed ones. I am the type who cries at movies. I cried after watching "Life is Beautiful", which is really, really brilliant, and I also cried after watching the last bit of some HBO TV movie because the woman died in the end. Today's movie simply did not impress me.

But the actor who played the son is pretty good-looking.

before sunrise // before sunset

Previously:
- - Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017
I'm moving. - Sunday, Jul. 11, 2010
In all honesty - Tuesday, Jul. 06, 2010
What I want for my birthday... - Sunday, Jul. 04, 2010
On Roger's behalf. - Friday, Jul. 02, 2010