Have found my inner control/gadget freak with my sis's handheld Acer PDA - inherited it because she finds the handwriting recognition software a chore to use, heheh. First thing I did was dive into the wonderful world of Pocket PC themes (really, only the wallpaper and menu colours) and downloaded a Guu theme, Kakashi and Squall Leonheart to name a few. Unfortunately, the designers sometime get a little too carried away with the picture and use really hard-to-read colours for menu text.

Then discovered another cool use - dream-logging first thing in the morning, when you arise from dreams of glee, in the first sweet light of day, when the snores are breathing low and the clocks are ringing loud.

And had a lot of fun loading all my work appointments/training dates and birthdays into it - until I accidentally made an clashing appointment over the phone because I keyed in the time of an existing appointment incorrectly. Pwah, now I know.

Received a heart-to-heart talk today which oddly enuff, boosted my confidence and made me more gung-ho. Nothing like two days away from work, indulging in food, good-natured company and theatrical presentations to bring out the goof in me. Also learnt that the line "No man is an island" did not result from a poem, but rather a meditation, hmmm...

Stood in for a colleague today and watched snippets (15 min) of a 2-hr movie today. It made me ponder love. How sometimes, it isn't the timing or the circumstances - but simply that the person you are now isn't right. In the movie, the man was beaten so terribly, he became brain-damanged. And only then did the female lead finally choose him.

And the sad thing was that he didn't at all want to risk going to the countryside, cut of from his wealth and power in the city. He was scared stiff and so desperate to escape, he risked the wrath of the policemen guarding him. Before that, he was charming, intelligent in a mocking way, filthy rich and getting even more so. Yet the movie seemed to be saying that there is no other way for them to be together (or content/happy) except by him losing his, well, you could say, innocence to how harsh the world can be. After the policemen chased him down in the field, and first bashed him on the head, he was screaming and moaning like you'd hacked off his arm - like he had lost something vital, like he was crying out to the gods, "Why is this happening to me!"

It would have been pity on her part if he just flopped around like an invalid while she cared for him - but the director chose to have her discover him using sand to spell out words of love to her on the ground. Giving the impression that the man he is, is still somehow there, but that he had to necessarily don the restraints of brain-damage to be with her.

Argh, late nights make me essay-ish.

In other news - who's up for NaNoWriMo?

Yes, yes still alive...just felt I had nothing interesting to say....

Some stuff that happened in the life of the Ade

1) Anime / Manga
- Love Monster 9 - whoohoo - the Chinese branch of the school - Byakko and Seiryuu looked so good on the cover, was a bit disappointed to find them playing lackey to a seductive Genbu. (Argh! All my Fushigi Yuugi and Yami no Matsuei preconceptions forcibly tossed out). Found myself cheering for Mr Wang - one of those smiling Fujitaka types - except beefier. I hope he will be the Huo Qi Lin. Imagine controlling the entire school just by smiling at them - a Laguna-look-alike if I ever saw one.

- Ouran Koko Host Club - having a lot of fun with this series. I like how Haruhi is so unique - not at all the blushing heroine. A little clueless but ultra-sensible with the weirdest quirks. You could just see the cogs in her head moving...and by volume 6, there is the beginnings of Doumyoji Kaede-type of rich-people scheming that one would expect to see in these sort of rich heir falls in love with commoner stories.

- GetBackers 31 - yes, am still reading this, despite the cognitive dissonance before and afterwards *sigh* It's so addictive though. Especially since now almost everyone is dramatically tossing aside a contact lens to reveal a special eye courtesty of Babylon City. Go Paul!!! Doesn't he remind you so much of Youji from Weiss Kreuz?

- Beauty! aka The Beauty Research Club - The pretties! Almost as nice as Love Monster and Kaikan Phrase but a little too love-dovey. More plotting and scheming by Kiyoshi and the school president would be welcome. Just to watch the Atsushi Smackdown, of course.

- Kapon by Shigano Yori - much too love-dovy for me. Will probably stop reading this one. A little funny but Love Monster and Ouran Koko Host Club are easily funnier.

- Bleach - Renji-tachi at Ichigo's school just made me think - wah! like a group of pai kia. Looking forward to more Isshin action and Rukia-art! Evil!Aizen bear, heheh.

- Honey and Clover - Takemoto and the cat! And Nomiya's reaction to Miwako-san's sms is so cute. Really like how HachiKuro says stuff. Read that the manga may not necessarily be the same (sparkling Morita!!), but still looking forward to reading it! Found out that Morita's seiyuu is Ueda Yuji also did Hamel in Hameln no Violin Hiki! More on his roles here.

- Kyou Kara Maou - *Sniff* Poor Adalbert! - as his name is not enuff, he's also doomed to lose his vengeful evil-villan image to be the grieving fiance left behind. On the plus side, Yuri gains yet another protector, yay! ShinOu's got a real sense of style, yah?

2) Watched speed boats go round and round at Marina Bay. Was actually more interested in the shutterbugs who showed up, and their gear. Spent some time taking my shadow and making passers-by wonder at weirdo perched on the concrete bench and taking pictures of the ground.

3) Lantern Festival night was spent under Benjamin Sheares bridge, figuring out how to increase the exposure in my digicam. *made me more determined to get a tripod - but seriously, only if I'm gonna go shutter-bugging at least every fortnight*

4) Watched a snippet of Advent Children while passing by a video game shop - wah, $89 for the direct dvd import. The CG made me drool. And that has to be Zack giving him the last boost right, right?

5) Went with mom to the Nana Mouskouri Farewell World Tour concert - pity I was too tired to properly appreciate it - but it was a night of soaring vocals and cute musicians. She sang in French, Greek and English I believe. Songs included Scarborough Fair, Amazing Grace, White Rose of Athens, but when she did Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin in mandarin (the fact she got the pronunciation 90% down was overshadowed by simply how good she made the song sound), she got the second standing ovation of the night (the third just before she exited the stage for the last time). I think the strongest thing I felt from the concert was a sense of awe - because everytime she sang or spoke of her experiences in singing, you could feel she is someone who has given her fullest to pursue what she loves.