This is going to be the worst birthday ever, for obvious reasons, but i guess it will also be one of the most memorable because of exactly the same reasons.

Did you know the only person i wanted to hear happy birthday from was you?

And more, besides

'I Google You' performed by Amanda Palmer, lyrics by Neil Gaiman



I Google you
late at night when I don’t know what to do
I find photos
you’ve forgotten
you were in
put up by your friends

I Google you
when the day is done and everything is through
I read your journal
that you kept
that month in France
I’ve watched you dance

And I’m pleased your name is practically unique
it’s only you and
a would-be PhD in Chesapeake
who writes papers on
the structure of the sun
I’ve read each one

I know that I
should let you fade
but there’s that box
and there’s your name
somehow it never makes the pain
grow less or fade or disappear
I think that I should save my soul and
I should crawl back in my hole
But it’s too easy just to fold
and type your name again
I fear
I google you
Whenever I’m alone and feeling blue
And each scrap of information
That I gather
says you’ve got somebody new
And it really shouldn’t matter
ought to blow up my computer
but instead….
I google you

it bends but never breaks, but it can be bent so far back that you won't recognise it anymore

I'm back in Singapore now. Things have certainly changed in the short time i have been away. People change. Things moved fast especially in the past few days. I'm plumbing the depths right now...but I hope i can surface soon. With all thats been said and done, we are only left with the memories, and with hopes for the future. I have certainly learnt many new things about myself, and about her, albeit in the worst circumstances possible. There are too many things i still want to say but i think this should be the end of it.

I just want to say that i never meant for things to turn out this way. I don't think anyone would.

a fleeting permanence

Its been a while since i last published any posts. And actually, i still don't have much i want to say here. But today, i witnessed something special that made me think about certain things. We were up on the Malibu hills waiting to catch the Leonid meteor shower on November 17th. We were there for almost 3 bone-numbingly cold hours. It was less than 5 degrees out, and there were strong winds. I didn't have nearly enough layers of clothes on. It was worth it though. The sky was clear, and endless. There were a lot of stars all over, it was impossible to take them all in at one go.

I managed to catch very many meteors tonight. Most of them were pretty fast but there were some which went by ever so slowly and beautifully. I knew you would have loved them. I felt regret, that we've not been able to catch a meteor shower together properly before. I felt regret, that i would not be by your side, or probably not even in your thoughts, when you catch the shower later in the day, in Singapore. Most of all, i felt regret at the things i have done. I felt a profound sense of loss just now, staring at the dotted expanse of stars out there.

I made a wish each time i saw a meteor flash by. They all ended up being the same wish. I made roughly the same wish, almost 2 years ago, while i was laying beside the road looking at the stars and talking to you on the phone, just before i fell asleep. It was a warm, fuzzy but sincere feeling.

I hope you catch some good ones, and wish happy wishes upon yours.

hitting rock bottom

Yesterday was one of the worst days of my life. Just when i thought that things couldn't get any worse, it did. But its nobody's damn fault but my own.

So, im not going to say much about Indigo Lounge. I just went up to play a few songs. A million things were going on in my head throughout the whole night. I thought walking back from Second Street would be a good idea, to clear my head. It was a bad idea. I was almost mugged and killed twice.

Some pictures of last night are up at http://piddleproductions.blogspot.com/2009/10/indigo-lounge-justis.html

One is the loneliest number

much much worse than two.


Just came back from a long night at the Wiltern. We thought we were going to be late getting there, turns out when they say doors open at 7, the show starts closer to 8. The theater had a nice interior, pretty old but classic. The chairs/seating wasnt that great though. They were selling merchandise but i was told no signing after the show, so i didnt buy anything. They sold drinks which could be consumed in the theater, and you could smell the sour smell of spilt beer on the seats.

Fountains of Wayne started the show. They were so good. I'm glad i finally managed to catch them live. Chris and Jody both played acoustic, while Adam played the piano when not on the bass. The drummer Brian played only with one snare, but he was still full of energy. Chris was really funny and he kept up the banter with Adam. Jody kept trying to get feedback out of his acoustic (running joke?). One guy who claimed he came from Colorado just to catch FoW started dancing by himself right before the stage. Another guy just parked himself just at the feet of Chris. It was damn funny. We had seats which were like 4 rows away from the stage, they were awesome seats. The setlist tonight was something like (not in order):

Hey Julie
Stacy's Mom (a more laid back remix)
Hackensack (got a couple of NJ ambassadors sitting in the front excited)
Little Red Light
Please Don't Rock Me Tonight
Fire in the Canyon
1x brand new song
Radiation Vibe (plus a karaoke jam in between)
Someone to Love
Bright Future in Sales
New Routine

Really, really great show. The guys looked like they aged quite a bit, but somehow their songs just really grows with you (not just on you) and its kind of bittersweet hearing them so many years on. Chris threw his pick after the end of the set and it landed right in my lap, so i'm proudly holding on to it now. Gosh.

Next was Aimee Mann, and she was awesome too. She just looked so good. She's really cute when she's skipping at the end of songs. It was the last show of her tour, and where else to end it but her old stomping ground LA. She says there's to be no more shows for the rest of the year (with the probability of some Christmas shows in LA), because she's going to put out a new record. Before the show, she established a protocol for requests to be submitted for songs to be played during the second half of the show. I went up to submit a request as well, haha. Her band was very talented and between the three of them they could play almost every instrument. The backup singing was really good too. Aimee played both the guitar and the bass, and also the recorder (which led to a funny moment). She played more than 20 song requests, it was crazy. And then she came out to do 'Voices Carry' for the encore. A partial setlist, not in order:


Just Like Anyone (song written for Jeff Buckley, beautiful song)
Voices Carry
4th of July
Amateur
Its Not Safe
How Am I Different
Deathly
This Is How It Goes
The Moth (always the starting song...why?)
Invisible Ink (she apologised for being too 'croaky' on the low notes on this one
Today's The Day
Save Me
Stupid Thing
Goodbye Caroline
Going Through The Motions
Its Over
Freeway
Build That Wall (a lot of songs from the Magnolia soundtrack)
Driving Sideways
One
Momentum (really loved this one)
Wise Up
The Other End Of The Telescope
1x brand new song

The show ended around 11pm. Then, we went to IHOP (International House of Pancakes) for supper.

Not the Papa Roach song

The heater is causing massive power trips around the house because it takes too much power to run. So now, by trial and error, we are finding out what combinations of appliances can work. Two heaters together is a definite no-no. The heater and the microwave together will cause a blowout too. The heater plus the oven and the rice-cooker is iffy. As it is, it rained almost the whole day today. Such a rare sight in LA that people were taking pictures of the rain. People were just walking in the rain all day cos i guess nobody owns an umbrella here. Ok la i exaggerate. I really miss the rain, so i'm glad for it, even though its even colder than before now. The drainage here is almost non-existent, puddles started forming very quickly and things became messy.

In the evening, i went for a movie screening in school. It was A.S.Byatt's "Angels and Insects" and it was about butterflies, ants, and incest in a good old English setting. There was free food too. I loved the movie, loved the Ricardo Carvalho-lookalike actor. Not loving the ADHD girl in the crowd who kept shrieking and laughing however.

Indigo Lounge

I will be playing at the 2nd Street Jazz Club this Sunday, 18th October, around 9pm. Its a spoken word event so in addition to playing a ridiculously long bass solo (i was told to play two 30-minute sets) i will also hopefully be backing the poets up somehow. Yes, tell me about it. Anyway, it will be a good experience. Total improvisation.

More details at http://piddleproductions.blogspot.com/2009/10/look-whos-coming-to-indigo-lounge_05.html. I sent in a really dated bio because i didn't want to write a new one and now i wish i wasn't so tardy in the first place.

The loss of a dear companion

It was an eventful Saturday, but also a sad one because today someone broke my watch of >15 years. Probably nobody notices this, but i've had the same watch since before Secondary 2. The Swatch with the gold strap. I just love that watch so much. Even when my sister got me a new one for my birthday several years back, i still kept the old one as a sign of faith towards it.

This morning, i finally collected the heater that they delivered when i was out. I had to pick it up at the Post Office. Then i made my way down to Hollywood with Stingray in tow, in its hard shell case. It was such a bummer to carry that around, navigating the L.A. buses and trains. Not only was it heavy, it was also bulky and it eventually cost me my watch. Never again. I won't bring the bass out again without a gigbag. Interestingly, on the train, this black guy saw my bass and started talking to me. 'Do you play the bass?' he says. 'Do you have a band?' 'Do you want to be in a band?' I said yes to see what he had to say. He talked about setting up some kind of band and he needs a bassist. I got his number, and asked him to come see me play next Sunday. But seriously, i don't think i will call him. I think i've got enough on my plate for now.

B was waiting for me at Hollywood/Highland. This is the street with all the crazies on it. We walked about 2 blocks down to the Musician's Institute (MI). There were lots of people practising in school even on a Saturday afternoon, it was quite a sight. The drummer, M, came down to sign me in. He is currently both a student and a teacher there, he says. The guitarist, J, was a graduate from MI and he was an Australian who's been in the US for a while. We played a couple of songs and i think the sound was ok. The Stingray on a proper (bigger) amp really sounds awesome. We are jamming again next week. But, after playing with them (just the once), i started thinking to myself if it was a genre i wanted to really get into. I used to think i would love playing in such a band but now i have my doubts. Maybe i will give it a few more weeks to see how it goes.

On the way back to the train station was when disaster struck. This guy dashed out from the lift while i was turning the corner and he crashed into my bass case. He picked himself up and went up the bus and i didn't even realise anything was wrong. Until this black guy beside me started shouting 'yo you dropped yo watch man', and the running man came down the bus to check but said it wasn't his. That was the time i looked down to the floor, and saw my precious Swatch smashed on the floor. It was such a sad sight. Then, i looked at my right hand and it was scratched proper and bleeding badly. I hadn't felt a thing before i actually saw it. But after i saw the smashed watch (and my bloody hand), i felt the pain. It is funny how people need visual (re)confirmation to tell them that they should be feeling something. To make things worse, the guy who was shouting beside me then turns and reveals a bag of counterfeit watches. 'Do you want to get a watch from me?' he says. I just walked away.

I came back home all tired and hungry and minus a watch, my ears slightly blasted from J's playing.

mexican jumping beans

Its been a really busy school week. And the cold is getting to me, i've taken to wearing socks around in the house, like an old person.

Tomorrow, i am going with a few other people from the department to check out downtownartwalk.com. It sounds nice. I hope its nice.

Also, i got tickets for a Aimee Mann/Fountains of Wayne double bill at the Wiltern next Friday. Half price, but not really, cos the 'ticket charges' were outrageously high. But, still an ok price to pay considering i'm on level one row D.

I saw some mexican jumping beans the other day, they are quite a sight indeed...but it made me sad for a long time. I feel like a jumping bean now too.

are you reading this?

Just got back from the USC Jazz Department Faculty Recital. I got there early because i thought the seats would run out fast. I mean, the show is free and its on campus, its on a Saturday night, and just look at the stellar lineup: Alan Pasqua on piano, Peter Erskine on bass, Bob Mintzer on sax, Derek Oles on bass. But surprisingly, the hall was not completely filled. The first set was just the four of them playing, and it was really good. I particularly liked Coltrane's 26-2 (the 'Confirmation' remix) and this Monk tune whose name escapes me at the moment (i would give anything for the name right now though, i want to find the mp3). The second set was the big band, made up of students. They were not bad. Young, talented. They were blasting a bit, maybe they were excited. A couple of pictures are up on FB, check them out.

I feel like playing some jazz but it seems impossible right now.

I wonder how long things will stay this way

I heard that recently there was a quake at Indonesia, and the tremors could be felt even in Singapore. It may have triggered off a string of events, which eventually led to an unpleasant state of affairs involving my family. It is sad to hear of such things, and you feel helpless because you are half a world away, but thats the way things are. Sometimes, i want to call back and talk to my grandpa, but i am ashamed of my faltering Hainanese. I know he still understands Mandarin. I can only hope that he remembers me.

My mom told me the other day that 2 shrimps jumped out of the tank and died. Thats an indication of poor water quality. But there is nothing i can do about it now. I know when my mom says 2 she really means 10 or so. And she didn't mention what was going on in the family.

The days, they crawl and they speed up, and there is always too much to read but never enough time. It is also turning chilly.

conference of the parakeets

I woke up this morning to a cacophony of parrots (parakeets?) in my backyard. There were at least a hundred of them, pecking at berries on a particular tree. Some of them were just lounging around, perched on the phone lines. They were furiously feeding, and squawking at the top of their beaks. They had a smooth, green body of feathers, reddish heads, and yellow beaks. It was quite a sight. Someone is going to have to sweep the yard later, because they shook a whole bunch of berry husks and leaves down to the ground.

Then, just as suddenly, they all flew away together, in a neat formation. Their loud squawking actually made a couple of car alarms go off. I wish i could take wing and fly away too...

=(

you got to let me in or let me out

Even when life stops for you, it goes on for other people.

I don't think my placebo is working like it should...

the wobbling, jell-o, forgotten yet popular mini-book

some kinds of gelatin really makes you sick, huh.

Anyway, after a furious couple of days of bidding (and stupidity) on EBay, i have successfully won 5 bids, but only 4 of which i am excited about.

1. I got a MusicMan Stingray double pu for US$862. Qiubo claims the very same bass is selling for S$3k (new) at the basement of Peace Center. I have been listening to songs where they are used, and online demo clips, and feeling psyched. Yes, i know its an expensive purchase. The most expensive bass (and only the fifth real bass i ever bought - i'm sorry Ventura, but you were a mistake) i ever bought, and it will be a real treat because i'd always wanted a StingRay. It is just unfortunate that i will probably not have a band to jam with anytime soon.

2. I got an Eden Nemesis 40W Bass Amp for about $150 total. It might not be enough for gigging everywhere but then i don't have any gigs so i wouldn't worry about that.

3. I got 2 cables for $12 total and a tuner for $15. I can't even be arsed to go down to the 'local' music store, which would be really far away.

Also, very stupidly, i won a bid on a MusicMan Sterling SB14 without meaning to. I put in a bid early when i was considering my options and i didn't think that i would win it, but i did. Its a 'modest' $380 but then i simply don't need 2 basses. I am faced with a couple of options, namely: (a) not to pay and let the seller give me a Non-Paying Bidder strike against my record, and (b) to pay for it and then to re-sell it immediately. I posted an ad on craigslist so i could get some indication on the market demand for the bass.

Actually, if the Stingray had gone beyond $900 (my perceived upper limit), i would have gladly settled for the Sterling.

School starts again today. Yay. But at least i will have the bass to look forward to at the end of the week. Retail therapy?

some kind of monster resides

"you just get by, one day at a time."

I used to say this, maybe without truly understanding it. But now i think i have an inkling. I have things to say but nobody to say it to.

Also, my deepest condolences to SY...

ETA - Just made a huge dinner for some people who came over for dinner. We used the spare room as a makeshift dining area. It went well, i guess. Well, i forgot to tenderise the beef. I also managed to get quite a bit of stuff from Darren's HDD. I'm bidding for some Stingrays and Sterlings on Ebay now...sooner rather than later, you know. I still have to sort out the amps, cables, tuner, strings etc. Setup tools? I don't know.

20 dollar leis

I think some kind of pattern and order is established by now. Classes and readings and assignments are one constant, as is the endless cooking and cleaning. And im just accumulating more and more stuff in my room. Piles of papers, a new vacuum cleaner, a tank of sea monkeys, random junk. I need to rein myself in.

The weekend is finally here and EPL is set to resume. There might be an eating trip on Saturday and a trip to SD on Sunday. And on Monday, i planned a meetup with a friend from Singapor who is doing music here. Other than that, the weekend will be spent on work, and whatever else i can squeeze out for sleeping. Its not like i sleep a lot anyway, but i just want to have the feeling of being able to sleep in.

Still getting used to the new laptop, i love it to bits. I attended an extremely interesting class this week too. Reminded me of certain things and people from NUS. Its a class im not supposed to take. I have already decided that i like the class but i wonder if the class will like me too. And lastly, congrats to Fabian - man, you've got everything SORTED. I'm so envious.

that was just someone imitating my laugh

A wrap up of the week in general. Its the second week of school, and although things are more settled than the first, it also means more work. But thats fine. Im a graduate student, im here to study and not to have a life (some bitterness there, but its fine). Its the Labour Day weekend today and the first football game of the season is also happening so i guess everyone is in a festive mood other than me. Holidays and weekends don't mean much to me and i prefer the other sense of the word football.

I've been having doubts about continuing with the Statistics class. I don't think it will be majorly difficult, having laboured through some Stats classes in the past. R actually looks interesting to me, because i just like command-driven stuff in general. But its the having 3 days of class per week part that really gets me. I am talking to the department about changing to a level-600 course right now and i hope everything works out.

Other than that, on the school side classes have been fun. I'm trying to speak more but sometimes i don't know what i don't know so its hard to come up with questions. Printing in the department seems much more difficult than previously thought so maybe it is a good idea to invest in a printer. Sometimes i run late for morning classes - even though i wake up early, i just have to leave the house early as well.

I also got involved in the GSIL (Graduate Students in Linguistics) in a very minor capacity, helping out with computer maintenance issues. And like everyone else, i volunteered to help out with WCCFL (West Coast Conference in Formal Linguistics?) which will be happening next February. Its a pretty major conference and USC is hosting it this year so thats pretty exciting.

My Dell computer came 2 days ago, when i wasn't around. My neighbour upstairs very helpfully signed for it and kept it for me. Was a bit lazy in setting the new computer up so i'm only doing it today. I must say, it looks awesome and it works smooth (at least for now), so i'm hoping the transition will be a smooth one.

Lastly, i would like to thank Roger and his wife for bringing us out for dinner and grocery-shopping yesterday. Sometimes you just want to take a break from cooking. Now, when i step into the kitchen, i just think of killing ants. Hopefully the ant traps will work. I also want to say how much i appreciate Andi going over to my place and cleaning the tank, bringing food for the babies and playing with them, and helping me take pictures of them. You're the best!

There were a lot of random gunshots last night that sounded like they were made in very close proximity. What a shitty neighbourhood.

who's lynette?

The good thing about a 3 day week is that on Wednesdays, you feel like the fight is almost over. Not that i have anything terribly exciting lined up for the weekend - mind you - i'm just going to go grocery shopping, clean the house, do my homework, things like that. And today was another long day in school.

I got my first paycheck today, and promptly cashed it at the bank. Finally one in among the outs. But then, i got to pay the rent soon. I'm already late, technically. And i have to clear other bills in a hurry. Elsewhere, my spending has more or less stabilised. I only spend on food and drink now. And by that i mean cooking, not eating out. I made a dish of beef liver with spring onions and garlic today, no mean feat. My housemate loved it.

Ants are invading the house. Help la. My theory is that they are avoiding the summer heat outdoors. And guess what? I was right. I found a WHOLE bunch of them in the fridge today. I must have killed at least a hundred ants today. I'm open to any strategies or methods of getting rid of ants.

R

Just a quick update before another crazy school-week. I think we've really hit the ground running with all the modules.

Saturday - department picnic at Vista Hermosa Park. Hot day, like the past week (and the weeks to come) has been, but it was a nice location for a picnic. And there were many great dishes. Quite a few faculty showed up, a lot of the students brought friends, and it was an enjoyable afternoon/evening. Many thanks to Fang Ying and Wen Qi for the ride there, and back.

Sunday - Singapore Students Association BBQ @ LA Canvas. Swanky kind of place - the kind i would never dream of staying on a grad student budget. Swanky kind of people, mostly undergrads, a fun bunch. But there were a few other grad students too. It was meat and more meat at the BBQ, nice food though.

Today - met up with Gary and his gf Cheng, who were in town for a short while before going to Chicago. Had coffee at Bosco's, down in Koreatown. It was nice catching up and knowing that there are friends nearby (Gary is starting grad studies at San Diego too).

Oh, and thanks to Susanna for sending me a pack of Sea Monkeys all the way to LA. I don't quite have a container to house them in yet but i'm looking for one right now! =)

dust devil spot scrubber sucks

I am taking 5 courses this semester. Syntax, Phonology, Psycholinguistics, Statistics, and a Graduate Research Seminar. I suppose it is considered quite heavy. Naga is doing 3 over at Rutgers. Some of the courses have 2 or even 3 classes per week, and the amount of homework is significantly more than i expected. In some classes, we have to do summaries of every single piece of assigned reading.

Also, they rely pretty heavily on textbooks here. I was extremely reluctant to purchase any because of the exhorbitant pricing. The stats book is around US$70-90 used and more than 100 new. I ended up photocopying the whole book. I don't think i've ever spent that sum on books in all my years in NUS. I did, however, get Kager's Optimality Theory for about 35 dollars from the bookstore. The irony of my first purchased linguistics book being one in phonology is not lost on me.

So, in all, i don't think i will have much spare time for anything else. I did go through their clubs fair yesterday, and it is true they have a wide variety of clubs, but most importantly there seems to be a lack of music clubs. Either i am missing something or its quite sad that its the case. Its hot here in the day, and extremely bright. My eyes are getting smaller and my skin browner. I no longer feel as cold in the nights and in the early mornings.

I'm slowly getting the feel of the department. We have settled into the first years' office and we are talking more among ourselves and in class. I could speak up more though. I have also been honing my cooking skills though the things i cook tend to be variations of the same thing. Its dependent on the groceries i get. Getting a simple bag of beansprouts basically means you have to add beansprouts in everything you cook for the next 3-4 days or so. And i haven't had fish in about 2 weeks.

The weekend is coming and i am only looking forward to watching Liverpool win. If they lose, its going to be a long season ahead. The UCL draw was not bad but nobody knows what will happen. The department picnic is postponed to Saturday late afternoon so thankfully i won't miss my match. A 2nd year student has offered to drive us there. The people here are all very helpful. I went to the library (one of the many on campus) and it was a very nice building. They have more Linguistics books than NUS although the shelves are very cramped and the interior less well furnished.

My semester ends only on the 10th of December, or it might be later. =(

Qizhong goes to Hollywood

Now, the reason for my trip to Hollywood is not because i wanted to do the touristy thing or because of celebrity-sighting. Even though i ended up doing some of the former (more details later). The real reason, or destination of my traipse was the Hollywood Bowl. I mean, just check their lineup for August out. Or September. My initial aim was Corea, Clark and White (and Scofield) on September 2nd. It might not work for several reasons:

- Thursday is an early school day.
- Transport BACK from Hollywood Bowl after the concert might be a problem.

But the list of performances is really insane. And how does the LA Philharmonic play with so many people in a month?

So, first, i took 754 down to Wilshere/Vermont. This is my first time negotiating the LA subway. I paid 1.25 for a one-way ticket but shortly after paying i realised its sort of pointless getting a ticket. There's no turnstile and it seems like there are no conductors as well. I was a bit of a dunce while waiting for the train at the platform. I stood at the far end (habit) alone while everyone was bunched up in the middle. Later, the train came, turns out the train wasn't long enough for the whole platform. -_-

It was chaos when i reached Hollywood Blvd. It was a Sunday afternoon and the tourists were out in full force. Well, i guess i qualify as a tourist as well. There were a lot of shops and tourist attractions like Madame Tussards' and the theaters. There were people dressed as famous movie characters on the streets, they posed for pictures if you tip them. People were also taking pictures of names of celebrities on the sidewalk. I took a few myself.

On my way to the Hollywood Bowl, Naga texted me. He finally responded to my prodding (for him not to be a recluse). I called him back, i think he's doing very well in New Jersey. I will hear more from him soon, hopefully.

All pictures will be up on Facebook. I'm sorry Blogger, but its just easier that way.

dont forget the hot sauce, cholo

Making fried rice with Kokusho sushi rice is a bad idea. It looks like it absorbs less water than usual kinds of rice. Maybe i should just put it in the fridge for a while before refrying it.

I put in a load of clothes which consisted purely of black and other coloured T-shirts, but they came out with loads of whitish lint on them.

I got two potted plants for my room. They look great. Now i understand how people can accumulate so much stuff even while living overseas.

TV dinners are actually a viable meal option. 10 for 10 dollars, beat that. (frozen) dumplings, which i just had for dinner, are good too.

Louisiana hot sauce tastes just like tabasco, but its a whole lot cheaper.

Mundane much?

The Kiss

Today was the last day of international/graduate student orientation. We got there just in time to get some bagels and coffee. Then we went for a series of talks. First up was a talk about graduate academic life in general, then there was a session about American Food (lol). In between, we went out to the poster sale and got some posters. Its such a great idea to have a poster sale, seriously. Everyone will be wanting to decorate or beautify their room in some way. There was a wide variety of pictures, and there were a lot of nice ones. In the end i settled for 'The Kiss' by Gustav Klimt. I almost got this gold foiled map of Middle Earth though. Iris got a medieval map and a picture of a chimp with headphones mimicking The Thinking Man. Nadine got a pink Audrey Hepburn poster. Together with the frame (just a cheap plastic one), it came up to 36 dollars. Quite a significant investment but i think it will spruce up the room a lot.

We went for lunch at the Lot. Not much choice. We wanted to check out EVK (Everybody's Kitchen) but it was a buffet and we weren't that hungry (also, because i nicked a sandwich at the reception for the Debater's Club - much to the disgust of their coordinator). After lunch, more talks on adapting to life in US, to culture, and how to get around, dating tips, etc. I find the workshops really general...and the advice does not seem all that 'American'. I mean, its just common sense. But, you can't expect that much detail in an orientation, right?

Stopped by the department just to talk to Joyce for a bit. She showed us the first years' office. Its small, but i think its ok. Im happy to have a workspace in the department, because im used to hanging out in school. There are terminals there but i think i'll use my own. And there's free printing too, awesome. Met Prof. Simpson and introduced ourselves. He gave us a warm welcome to the department.

Later, we finished up at the international student reception. There were a lot of counters set up by the various offices, student clubs, volunteer clubs, religious clubs, etc. It was quite interesting going around looking at what they had to offer, but i wasn't seriously keen on joining any of them. There was a recreational soccer club...6-a-side; they a free agent's meeting so you meet with other people to form teams of 6 to join the league, pretty cool.

The picture is the centerpiece of my room now. Looking good. Miscellaneous pictures are up on my Facebook account (you got to love FB). And, damn, these plums are tasty.

de de se

Today didn't start off too well. First, i woke up to find that the wireless was down, because the power outlet at the back was down. So, we had to get the landlord to get someone to come around to fix it. Later, on the way to school, i got accosted by this black guy asking for money. Again. I didn't give him any and thankfully he didn't turn nasty. We were a bit late for orientation, but it didn't really matter because there was just so many people and it was chaos. The so-called breakfast was like a free-for-all and the food wasn't that great anyway. I barely finished my coffee before we were chased off into the auditorium.

Then, a series of talks and introductions by staff from the International Office ensued before we were divided into groups. There are A LOT of international graduate students in USC. Within the group, we did some ice-breakers stuff and we did a walking tour of the campus. I talked to this Italian guy who said he supported Juventus (lol). I made a squirrel come to me and it almost ate off my hand.

Lunch was another open-air affair at the park area in the middle of school. We sat at a table with a bunch of Taiwanese students who were excitedly discussing the places they visited over the past week. I got to talk more to Priya and Joe today at the orientation, about school and about settling in at LA in general. After lunch, we went for a library talk to learn more about library services. Their resources are quite impressive.

We didn't manage to get the chest X-ray done again today, because there were just too many people. The Health Center looks like a refugee center. And frankly, i think its too small a facility to service the entire school. Hopefully, i won't fall sick too often when i'm here. I got back home to finish up some administrative stuff, among which was the pressing issue of registering for classes. I talked to the Chair of Graduate Studies, Prof. Hoji, on the phone for quite a while, discussing what modules were best to take to suit my interests. He went into detail about his research but concluded that i wasn't ready to take his class. So, it appears that i will be doing some stats and psycholinguistics this semester, on top of syntax and phonology.

Later, while cooking dinner, Alex (our other housemate) came by to say that he'd already moved out. He didn't even stay a single night so far. So i guess we will have to wait to see who our next housemate will be. Apparently, his notebook was stolen from his car, which was parked out on the street, while he was moving his stuff. Its a dangerous neighbourhood we live in. Dinner was some fried rice with kimchi, bamboo shoots, bean paste chili and OJ. Im getting quite good at this.

So, another day of orientation awaits tomorrow; but really, its nothing important so i might just skip it altogether. It was a good matchday 2 with liverpool winning and burnley winning (LOL) and im looking forward to the weekend. There is supposedly some trip to Pasadena on Friday but im not sure whether we are going or not. I kind of regret not signing up for the bus trip today, it sounded like fun.

I was recently introduced to another grad student who is also just starting out at Connecticut. It is good to make connections and talk to people who are doing roughly the same thing as you are. Hello.

padrino

Alex, the new housemate, moved in yesterday. His dad and brother were also variously here to help (or to hang out). I said hi but we have not talked much. All in good time, then. I just hope everything works out well.

I got my Ralphs rewards card today! And some dinner from a Chinese food stall that was offering USC student specials. Monstrous portions as usual. And half a dozen donuts for some donut diplomacy.

I finally ordered my Dell Studio 15 too. I paid for it in the end with my Singapore credit card cos for some reason i cannot bypass the SSN verification stage for payment with Dell. It will ship and only arrive only near the beginning of September. I can't wait! I just hope this relic doesn't break till then. Its dangerous, the way they deliver things here. Just the other day, a book from Amazon was just left on the porch (anyone could have taken it) and today, i signed for a package for my neighbour because he wasn't in. This particular episode comes with another funny anecdote. I mentioned previously how there's always a lot of spam in the letterboxes and on the driveway or on the porch, but none of the other people staying here cares. They apparently don't find trash lying around an eyesore. So, i'm clearing the shit everyday but getting more and more pissed about it. Today, after the deliveryman left my neighbour's package with me, he left a hanging sign on my neighbour's doorknob with the instructions "your package is with your neighbour - 3023". Later that day, i found that sign on the floor. My neighbour didn't come over to claim his package for the longest time. It was only after i turned it over and saw his clueless expression that i realised that he didn't even know the package came and i was holding it. He had simply swept the sign on his doorknob onto the floor, thinking it was spam. Fucking bochup. The next time i will punish him.

Alex came with a huge ration of bottled water. Its quite common here. The tapwater here sucks anyway. I miss Singapore tap water. You can simply drink from the tap. Even topping up the fish tank straight with tap water is no big issue. Anyway, Iris is thinking of getting bottled water as well. I don't see what the big fuss is. Yet. It just seems so troublesome going to the watershops for top-ups.

Lastly, notice of a very interesting seminar by Lian Hee: The Artificial Boundary of Humanities and Science - Arguments from Linguistics and Literature . A topic close to everyone's hearts and with totally accessible argumentation. Check it out! 26th August, 4pm, Reading Room on the fifth floor of AS5.

i have been searching for bands extensively online but nothing's really coming up. As it is, i don't have any gear right now. I don't have wheels to get to the faraway jamming and gig locations. There are, as far as i know, no recreational music clubs in school. Bands like the Jazz Orchestra are meant for the music majors. This is depressing.

sittin' there sweetly pigeon-toed

I almost wasted good money subscribing to cheesy EPL-streaming sites yesterday while looking for a working one to watch the matches from. Good thing i didn't. They all look damn dodgy to me. In the end sopcast pulled through for me and i could watch some matches with reasonable spurts of lag. While watching the matches went well, the matches themselves did not; and i severely underperformed for Fantasy. Hell, the top guy now has like 3 times my points. Suddenly, i don't feel very good about my team this season. I picked a bunch of riff-raff defenders and forwards. And Everton getting spanked, how about that! Liverpool lost, and i was so angry after that i couldn't get back to sleep (not like i could anyway, with the fool upstairs pacing up and down, his floorboards creaking endlessly). Please, Rafa, don't play Babel again if you can play either Bennayoun or Riera.

I barely slept for a few hours before i woke again. My housemate went out so i was home alone, and i decided to go for a walk too. Actually i wanted to get onto Vermont to look for a fish shop i had found online. I had to walk past the Colisuem. The road was long, and broad; the skies endlessly blue with no clouds in sight. It was a good sized store, though the inventory was kind of haphazardly placed and the place was dirty and old. The prices for the non-native varieties were literally ten times more expensive than in Singapore. But it wasn't the price that made me drop the idea of keeping a fish tank in my room. It was the inconvenience of having to find someone to take care of them during holidays, of having to move them around if i moved, the hassle of setting up and all that. So, i headed back.

Then, i went up Hoover and Adams to explore some of the other USC Housing and some of the Greek houses. They are in a nicer neighbourhood than i am in, that is for sure. It felt safer too. I went past a Rec Center and there was some kind of festival going on. I'm sorry to say this but i can't properly distinguish between the Hispanics yet (as in, are they Mexican, or Puerto Rican, or what). But it looked happening, there were people belting out songs on stage and stalls selling food that looked absolutely delish.

I saw my first street arrests today. Well, you hear fire engines and police cars out and about every single day, beating the traffic; but today, i saw a couple of guys getting handcuffed and frisked. Young 'uns. I also got accosted today while walking back home. A middle-aged black lady stopped me and asked me for 'change for the bus'. At first, i thought she wanted to change a bill for coins, so i said i don't have coins. Then, she asked me for a dollar bill. So, i gave it to her. After that, she asked me for another dollar. So, i just walked away, screw that. I got even more food from the supermarket. I'm still suitably impressed by the variety of food available here. But now i think i bought too much, and it seems like im hoarding food.

I reckoned i walked at least 40 miles today, all told. My flat feet are not made for sneakers.

The power went out a couple more times today, i think its something in the kitchen thats causing it. In other news, i discovered i didnt need to do degree verification NOR english testing even though they said i needed to. And i applied for NUS to send my transcripts over. What a waste of money.

Also, i have been getting a lot of spam - pamphlets, letters, newspapers on the driveway and in the letterbox. It gets blown around by the wind so its all over the grass sometimes. And it doesnt get to anyone else staying here but me. So i clear it everyday. I wonder if the black family on our right or the hispanic family on our left gets spam problems, or if its just us students.

what doesn't kill you makes you fatter

Today i went to get my USCard. Its just the school id card. Quite a long queue but still bearable. There were more people on campus today because of orientations, i think. I didn't consciously plan it, but i wore a Liverpool jersey out; so now my student id has a picture of me in a Liverpool jersey. I look damn fit.

Later in the afternoon, i walked down Vermont to Ralph's for groceries. The security guard before told me that i couldn't bring my bag in; an obvious case of profiling, unfortunately, since all the other customers (i.e. non-Asians) are walking around happily with their bags. In fact, there wasn't even a bag counter anywhere. Today, i just walked in. The selection there is excellent. Lots of fruits, vegetables, snacks, drinks, whatever you want. Everyone knows that i love grocery shopping. But i think i went a bit mad today. I got raspberries and blackberries, firstly. Then some plums and ONE pluot (simply because i got into a conversation with this black lady at the fruit section and she said i HAD to try one). And of course, i had to get some TV dinners, some Hungry Man. I got this awesome bag of fried chicken, it was like 7-8 pieces for 6 dollars. And lots more, i had to rein myself in. Unfortunately, i didnt think of getting a Ralph's card before spending so much money. I read the last line of the receipt and it said "You could have earned 36 points. You could have saved $11.00" Thats a LOT of savings!

In other news, i decided to get a Dell Studio 15 but i hit a snag trying to pay for it with my new card. Have to sort that out soon. Also, i'm more or less settled on T-Mobile, one of the prepaid plans, just have to decide on which one.

i wish i could be like the baby, laughing in his sleep

Was a bit late for the department orientation this morning because i went back to bed again despite waking early in the first place. There was food and drink served, as promised - pizza, cookies and cake, grapes, juices. It was a very productive meeting, i thought. Everyone got to know each other and also to ask important questions, sort things out. The department looks great and i am looking forward to moving into the office (once the previous year1s move out). But for now, there is still a ton of admin stuff to be done. Most importantly, i have to figure out what (other) courses to take for the coming semester. I already have 3 courses which are compulsory.

After we were done with school, me and Iris (my housemate) made the trip (by bus) down to Little Tokyo. Passed by the Walt Disney Concert Hall, it looked quite impressive from the outside. Maybe i can go catch the LA Philharmonic one day. Little Tokyo was alright; not the biggest place to explore but there were some very nice shops and i did a spot of shopping for food and a blanket, and i took some pictures. We had dinner at a restaurant, it came up to 20 dollars. On the way back, we realised that the Dash had stopped running already. So we walked up the street to find a Metro bus. Asked for directions and then got a free ride for a couple of stops by this very nice driver, to where we were supposed to take another bus back to USC. It was late by the time we got back.

The weekend is coming. And i don't have anything particularly interesting or exciting lined up. I am looking forward to the start of the Premier League though. Hopefully the online streaming websites won't let me down. My team is up on both soccernet and premierleague.com - i think they are quite risky strategies but im confident they will pay off. I think i will cut down on the number of blog updates...its not like anything is happening right now, haha. I'm just sitting here drinking a really really bad instant coffee, and for some reason the water here 'clumps up' even after you boil them. Its really gross.

a barkless tree

Today, i went for a walk on campus to get a feel of things. The campus itself isn't that huge if you look at it on googlemaps, but somehow it feels much larger when you walk through it. Its a beautiful campus. The buildings are a mixture of old and new, there are a lot of water fixtures and statues and grass. There are at least two fields and a pool, eating places, and numerous residence Halls. I wonder how they manage to fit everything in. At the library (or at least, i think its the library), they put up flags of different countries; they put up the Singapore flag too. Nice to see we are not forgotten because of our size. Since school hasn't started yet, there weren't many students on campus. I managed to get lost in the campus, several times. -_-

I have been checking out laptops on the Dell University website. I'm a bit caught between getting a cheaper Inspiron, a mid-range Studio XPS or a killer Alienware. I also need to see whether i am eligible for discounts. Hopefully i can.

My landlord is going to come over to replace the keys and the locks on my doors later. It will make things easier for me this way. And apparently, my other housemate won't move in until next week. I am going for department orientation later, hopefully i can get most of the admin stuff done. And then, i can have a relaxing weekend, maybe catch some EPL matches. More than just the weekend, actually. I have until next Thursday...maybe a trip to the beach, then?

I spent lunchtime sitting at Denny's, reading the LA Downtown News and a LGBT magazine called Frontiers.

After lunch, I took an exploratory ride on the Dash to downtown. Passed by Staples Center and Nokia Center, the Financial District (there were a lot of banks and auto companies), the Fashion District, Little Tokyo. The good thing about Dash is that it costs only a quarter to get on. The passengers are mostly black people and hispanics. There's a lot of hispanics in my neighbourhood. I call them 'amigos'. I would love to try their food but i remain a bit hesitant ordering because from my limited experience with them, their English is a little iffy.

As is my Chinese. It can be quite difficult talking to my Taiwanese housemate in Chinese all the time, because i think my command of the language isn't what it used to be. Or maybe it wasn't ever good. Before i left, i was worried that i would not have the chance to speak Chinese over here; now i'm moaning that i'm speaking it too much. Bullshit.

I hope my parents like the books me and Andi got for them. My dad hasn't started on the two books about history and politics yet; he's been doing the Sudoku puzzles and saying they are very difficult. But he enjoys them. My mom says she likes the book we got her - one about how to cope with retired husbands staying at home - but i don't think she has the time to read it now either.

I got a mirror in my room, finally. And i just want to say, i am fascinated with the wide range of everyday nouns that make their way into Brit lingo in the derogatory sense. For instance, you can say something like "I wish we got a left-back who is not absolutely toilet/trouser" or "Lee Cattermole is absolute zoo/cabbage". Never fails to bring a smile to my face.

can you rear fish in a Brita pitcher?

I woke up too damn early today. More like, i didn't get much sleep last night, cos it was too cold. I went out for a walk and got myself a drink and a donut. There are some stores nearby, small ones though. Better than nothing, i think. I came back to see that my housemate had woken; so it was good for me to do a spot of vaccuuming in my room and the corridor. The big, bulky bastard. It does nothing for corners at all. Then...the power tripped while i was cleaning the house. I had to go out back to flip the switches. There were four power boxes and i couldn't figure out which was for which unit, so i flipped them all. Must have caused some inconvenience to the neighbours, sorry about that.

Later, me and Iris headed out for school. We made the fatal mistake of turning out the wrong way from Van Buren. So we walked the opposing direction until we were sufficiently convinced that we were lost (we didn't have a map). I got this can of fruit tea which was like the biggest can i've ever seen. And i started getting blisters on my feet because my new Crocs don't fit me as well as i thought it would.

I spent almost the whole afternoon getting my bank account started up. But at least thats out of the way now. I was dozing all the way at the bank while waiting. I feel safer now that i deposited all my cash and checks in my account. The mobile phone plans are a bit scary. More expensive than the plans in sg, definitely. I'm not a heavy phone user, plus i don't even have many friends here now. And this 500 bucks deposit (cos i dont have a SS#) is a bitch too.

Wilson came by again yesterday to receive a new tenant; he also dropped me a new boxfan and a surge protector. Its nice of him. Tomorrow my new housemate will be coming. He's from northern Cali, apparently. School starts only in about 2 weeks time and i only need to go for 3 official days of orientation. I need to find something to do for now.

someone choose, who's left and who's leaving?

What a super long never-ending day. And despite it being such a long day, i only got 2 hours of sleep at the end of it. So here i am now, doing my first blog post from LA. I guess i was lucky the flight was more or less broken up into two parts. Both legs were equally uneventful; i just watched movies, ate and slept in snatches. I kept a copy of the Straits Times because it was the National Day special. I spent only minutes in transit in Japan, so i couldn't do anything other than freshen up at the bathroom. US Customs were less of a reckoning than i thought it would be, and all my stuff got through in one piece.

LAX as an airport is considerably less impressive than Changi. Generally chaotic, and i trudged along looking for a shuttle to take me downtown. Finally settled on SuperShuttle. It cost me 25 dollars (a dollar tip for the driver, who was from Belarus). The minibus made one round and picked up several other passengers who were headed downtown too. They included a black couple who kept talking to me about their travels and a fat Australian who talked about his visits of America. I reached Van Buren with no fuss.

Wilson was waiting for me in the house. He was replacing some of the locks around the house. Basically, the house looks exactly like it does in the pictures he posted. And its super-duper dirty. Tons of dust and debris in the carpeted floor. This is why i hate carpeted floor. To make things worse, the vacuum cleaner that i brought turned out to be a dud; it doesn't work for more than a couple of minutes at a stretch. I went through most of the surfaces with a rag and disinfectant right away.

So, for those of you who don't know what my place is like, let me describe it. Its a 'quadplex', which is a collection of 4 units in one building (2 on ground, 2 above). Each unit has 3 rooms. The front door opens to the living room, which is converted into a bedroom. That is the room i got. There are two other rooms that can be accessed through the back door. There is a kitchen and a bathroom in each unit. Basically, there is the only common area we share. The laundry area is in separate room out back, with a washer and dryer (coin-operated). There is a mailbox where we drop our rent at the start of every month. There is a backyard which provides ample parking space, and where the trash is found. The landlord seems like a nice-enough guy. He was helpful even though the room is not exactly top notch. Oh well. He works as a policeman, apparently. I didn't take any before pictures but i will post some after pictures soon.

Iris came soon with her two friends who fetched her from the airport. They made quite a cute couple - Irene and Xiao Gou (little dog). They barely settled down before they decided to go out for shopping and dinner. So i joined them. The back seats of their car are almost completely covered with dog fur because their giant black Labrador (her name is Julie) usually sits at the back. It was quite gross, but you couldn't argue with a free ride, right? They brought us to a 'Chinese' supermarket where you could find almost everything you can find in Singapore, to stock up. I spent about a hundred dollars (from now on, i will be using US$ as default currency) buying mainly food stuff. Stuff to cook with.

After that, we met some of their friends for dinner at a HK-meets-West restaurant. There were 7 girls and one guy (me) and they were all Taiwanese. Most of them knew each other from high school or university days. They were all older than me, either doing their graduate studies or working. They have been in LA for quite a while. I didn't speak much so i just listened to what they had to say. There was another couple (other than Irene and XiaoGou). They talked mainly about life in LA, life in Taiwan, and some stuff about relationships. The food was in monstrous portions...i had to pack most of my beef fried rice home. All the drinks were free-flow. Insane. I spent $13 on dinner.

After dinner, we went to Walmart for a second round of shopping. Walmart was huge. Comparable to the biggest hypermarts in Singapore. We spent quite some time there. I spent about $200 before i realised it. And i am still lacking stuff! Its amazing how much you spend on everyday items you take for granted. And they all add up. At the end of the night, the car was completely full of shopping (Iris spent even more than me) and we headed off to Irene and XiaoGou's place to pick up some food we left in their freezer. They live a fair distance from USC and UCSD (where they attend respectively) but they both drive. Their pad is nice. Julie was very friendly.

On the way back to Van Buren, we got a little lost. Then, we were pulled over by a cop. He claimed that one of the car's headlights was out. Traffic fines here are no joke. Speeding, for example, gets you like a $300 fine and you have to attend 8 hours of classes (which you have to pay for as well, talk about adding insult to injury). But luckily, not having a working headlight wasn't that big a deal. I spent even more time unpacking after we got back. I couldn't sleep if things were messy. I had to wait till morning to do something to the floor. All the rest of my stuff are more or less unpacked. I made the stupid mistake of buying black pillowcases and black sheets. Now the lint on the bed is damn obvious, and it looks bad.

I took a shower before going to bed. The shower is not bad. The spray is strong. I tried to reply all the MSN messages i got. There were some problems with the thesis submission so i had to take care of that. I also got an Unlimited Country account with Skype so i called Andi and my family to talk for a while just now. I slept only two hours because it was too cold. There is no fan in my room and it can get pretty stuffy in the day.

I'm just waiting for day to break now. I have a lot of things to do today. Get my bank account, get my cellphone, get even more groceries, clean the room properly, figure out a way to watch EPL, get my new laptop and printer, and i have to explore the area before it gets dark. Thursday, i will have to go to school for the department orientation.

Thanks to everyone who came to send me off at the airport, i really appreciate it. To Kenneth, Adrian, Brandon, Jon, Euntaek, Giam, Gillian, Firdaus, Rongchen, Erina, and also to hendri and shifaa who couldn't make it in the end. Thanks for the photo and the card and the gifts too. My entire extended family came down too, its too bad i didn't take any pictures. My uncles and aunts, my parents, my cousins, the babies. And of course, Andi, who stayed and talked to me until the very last minute before the plane took off. I miss her already.

soy capitan

Been putting a severe dent in my already depleted bank account shopping the past few days. Packing is coming along fine but i may have too much to fit into my trunk yet.

Friday was the day i got the thesis printed and sent for binding. I also did all the paperwork necessary for submission. In all, about 170 pages and 36k words. Slight change of plans for the proposed examiners, and im not sure whether the change will be good for me, or not. A big thank you goes out to Andi for running around with me on a mad Friday. K, to the last, kept me in the office asking me about his latest paper idea (our unresolved love affair with 'one'). Friday was at least ended on a high note with a house party at Hendri's, we played Guitar Hero World Tour for some time. I tried all 4 instruments but i would say drums is still the most fun. Andi didn't want to try anything but in the end she succumbed and sang a Muse song. LOL

Today, i got back all my stuff from the jazz band room, and said bye to some people. So, now, for the first time in a long long while all 5 guitars and other peripherals are reunited at home. People who have expressed interest in borrowing any of my stuff...tomorrow is the last day for you to come over to get them.

Had a massive dinner with the rest of the family tonight. Well, not that massive cos there were only about 14 people (and 2 babies). but we ate 2x10 people's worth of food. 0_0 My aunt (i call her Mai Mai) gave me a huge red packet for my trip and im really grateful for it. My sister made a canvas picture with mini-thumbnail photos of me and the babies, its nice and im bringing it over with me.

Finally, i would like to end this post with a funny anecdote. Not riproaring funny but its just one of those things. I was at the YIH Student Service Center paying my thesis examination fees (a princely sum of $267.50, i might add) and i struck up conversation with the administrative lady, who was very helpful with my many questions and requests. When i handed over my Nets card for payment, she remarked "Wow, your NETS card looks very different, never seen before this kind". I agreed and said 'yeah'. My card was from a UOB TX-savings account which i opened ages ago. Then, she asked "So is your card savings account or current account?" Keeping up the small talk, so i gave some longass spiel about how, when and why i got the TX-account - I was still in my JC days, blah blah, there was some special gift and perks that came along with the deal.

But, there was no reply from her. Then, i looked down at the table, at the handheld input device. Actually, she just needed me to press either the 'Savings' or the 'Current' button before she could get my PIN number.