"After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."

Let's discuss the painful shit JK Rowling put her readers through:

Hedwig's death in the Deathly Hallows

Pain level: 3.5/5

I've always liked Hedwig, but more of the she's-always-been-around kind of feeling - it's true that it was deeply saddening when she died in the Battle of the Seven Potters - I had a bit of a nasty shock despite knowing about her death- but when I'd read the symbolism I could sort of understand why.

"The loss of Hedwig represented a loss of innocence and security. She has been almost like a cuddly toy to Harry at times. Voldemort killing her marked the end of childhood. I'm sorry... I know that death upset a LOT of people!" - JK Rowling

I understand and accept Rowling's explanation, but I don't like it. In fact, Hedwig is so sweet and innocent and has been with Harry for the longest time, so I don't think anyone likes it.

Screams, a blaze of green light on every side: Hagrid gave a yell and the motorbike rolled over. Harry lost any sense of where they were: street lights above him, yells around him, he was clinging to the sidecar for dear life. Hedwig's cage, the Firebolt, and his rucksack slipped from beneath his knees - 'No - HEDWIG!" The broomstick spun to earth, but he just managed to seize the strap of his rucksack and the top of the cage as the motorbike swung the right way up again. A second's relief, and then another burst of green light. The owl screeched and fell to the floor of the cage. 

Dobby's death in the Deathly Hallows

Pain level: 3.5/5

Dobby is quite endearing and loyal to Harry, so his death was a bit of a blow... I was upset that he'd died trying to protect Harry from Bellatrix but it was even more depressing to see him die slowly (knife to the chest) instead of quickly like those hit by the Killing Curse. 

“He did not know or care whether they were wizards or Muggles, friends or foes; all he cared about was that a dark stain was spreading across Dobby's front, and that he had stretched out his thin arms to Harry with a look of supplication. Harry caught him and laid him sideways on the cool grass.
"Dobby, no, don't die, don't die -"
The elf's eyes found him, and his lips trembled with the effort to form words.
"Harry...Potter..."
And then with a little shudder the elf became quite still, and his eyes were nothing more than great glassy orbs, sprinkled with light from the stars they could not see.” 

Fred's death in the Deathly Hallows

Pain level: 4/5 

I was really agitated reading about Fred's abrupt death - I'd sooner have that ingrate Percy die in his place. Percy was such an asshole. 

“And Hermione was struggling to her feet in the wreckage, and three red-headed men were grouped on the ground where the wall had blasted apart. Harry grabbed Hermione's hand as they staggered and stumbled over stone and wood.'No - no - no!' someone was shouting. 'No! Fred! No!'And Percy was shaking his brother, and Ron was kneeling beside them, and Fred's eyes stared without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face.” 

Reading about how Mrs Weasley crying over Fred's body, George being unable to produce a Patronus after his twin's death was even more devastating. 

Sirius's death in the Order of the Phoenix

Pain level: 5/5

Also the main reason why I dropped Harry Potter after the Half Blood Prince. It was considered a really big deal- I was a huge Potterhead in my primary school days; I could recite nearly any spell and tell you the backstory of each character and what happens after each scene in the books. The people close to me couldn't understand why I'd stopped reading Harry Potter completely.

Of course that affects you. I can remember just before-- just before Phoenix came out-- no, yes. Phoenix of course. Meeting a boy who said to me, "Please, never ever, ever, ever, ever kill Hagrid, Dumbledore, or Sirius." Oh, my god. And he was a really nice boy. And he-- who had some problems in his own past. And he was out-- he was definitely saying, "Don't kill any of these people who have been fathers to Harry." And I knew I'd already done it. I'd already killed Sirius and I can't pretend that looking at him I didn't feel quite awful.

Dumbledore's death in the Half Blood Prince

Pain level: 5/5

I grudgingly read this after the Order of the Phoenix simply because I felt obliged to. I remember telling my friends, "What's the point of it all when one of my favorite characters is dead?" and then JK Rowling kills off Dumbledore, another of my favorites. Thanks Rowling. 

I finished the Half Blood Prince, but only read it once. A far cry from the 50-plus times for books one through four. 50-plus times each, FYI. I was getting more and more annoyed by all the good, dead characters.

But somebody else had spoken Snape's name, quite softly.
"Severus ..."
The sound frightened Harry beyond anything he had experienced all evening. For the first time, Dumbledore was pleading.
Snape said nothing, but walked forwards and pushed Malfoy roughly out of the way. The three Death Eaters fell back without a word. Even the werewolf seemed cowed.
Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face.
"Severus ... please ..."
Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore. "Avada Kedavra!” 

A jet of green light shot from the end of Snape’s wand and hit Dumbledore squarely in the chest. Harry’s scream of horror never left him; silent and unmoving, he was forced to watch as Dumbledore was blasted into the air. For a split second, he seemed to hang suspended beneath the shining skull, and then he fell slowly backward, like a great rag doll, over the battlements and out of sight.”

I was a little less devastated when I read about the reasons why Snape had to kill Dumbledore - Snape needed to prove to Voldemort that he was really on his side, and Dumbledore was already greatly weakened when he destroyed the Gaunt ring. Snape's fast Killing Curse was probably a more merciful death compared to slowly dying.

Remus and Tonks die in Deathly Hallows shortly after Teddy Lupin

Pain level: 5/5

Apparently JK Rowling said that she wanted to kill off Ron and Mr Weasley, but instead she killed Lupin and Tonks:

I wanted there to be an echo of what happened to Harry just to show the absolute evil of what Voldemort's doing. The fact that you leave orphans and you leave children who then have to make their way in the world uncared for and unprotected. And-- so that's why I killed the two that, you know, you know about in this book. Which I hated, hated doing because I love them both as characters.

What really made me sad was that there wasn't enough of Lupin and Tonks. I really like Lupin - he's one of my favorites - a sad, lonely werewolf who couldn't love anyone before, until Tonks came along. They had a short bout of happiness, got married and had Teddy Lupin and then died. (Curls up under desk and weeps)

Snape's death in the Deathly Hallows

Pain level: 6/5 do not recommend to relive 

“But this is touching, Severus,” said Dumbledore seriously. “Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?”

“For him?” shouted Snape. “Expecto Patronum!”From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe. She landed on the office floor, bounded once across the office, and soared out of the window. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears.“After all this time?”“Always,” said Snape.”

"Snape's patronus was a doe, the same as my mother's because he loved her for nearly all of his life, from the time when they were children." 

Snape is really the ultimate hero of the entire series and it was so painful to relive his old memories of him and Lily Evans' unrequited love. This last part was the mother of the mother of all plot twists and I don't think I could've handled it if I'd read it at age 12. I can barely even contain myself at age 22.

----

I'm rewatching the movies and I'm anticipating Half Blood Prince and the Deathly Hallows... Viewing the first movie was magical and nostalgic. Now after getting spoiled rotten by awesome special effects from the likes of the Marvel universe, the special effects in 2001's Sorcerer's Stone seem abysmal. The movies change a lot in tone and quality from the Prisoner of Azkaban onwards, though.

10 more minutes and I can get off work! I'm so sleepy. I kept dozing and waking at the Embassy just now.

Less than a month to NY!

Deathly Hallows

I'm nearing the end of the Deathly Hallows and I'm feeling so dejected over Remus and Tonks. :( I dreaded reading about their death the most after hearing from many different sources of spoilers. Fred's was also unexpectedly quick. I thought Dobby's life ended with dignity as well - when you think about the characters that have been around since the first couple of books. Mad-Eye Moody and Hedwig's deaths were a shocker; I didn't expect them to die so quickly at the beginning, especially Mad-Eye, who's always seemed like pretty much of a bamf.

On a brighter note:

1. Molly Weasley being a badass ("Not my daughter, you bitch!") and slaughtering Bellatrix

2. Professor Trelawney dropping crystal balls on Fenrir Greyback's head

3. Hagrid not even bothering with magic and throwing Death Eaters across the hall

4. Neville chopping off Nagini's head

5. The manner in which Snape met Lily as a child - I now finally understand what readers meant when they said, "JK Rowling told a better love story in one chapter than Stephanie Meyer did in 4 books."

6. "Snape's patronus was a doe, the same as my mother's because he loved her for nearly all of his life, from the time when they were children." /brb crying

Potty wee Potter

Work days have been made more bearable now that I’ve once again started on my Harry Potter books- been reading on my Kindle whenever I have the time- but I’m at Deathly Hallows now and shit’s gonna go down.

Actually DH is the only book I’m reading for the first time; I’ve read books 1 through 4 countless times in my preteen years, read Order of the Phoenix a couple of times (was too siriusly pissed) and Half-Blood Prince once (but I can’t remember if I’ve finished it). Ah, the overwhelming nostalgia.

I remember being in awe by the HBP – so smart, so legitimately cool. Then I found out who he was. (Slaps self)

Deathly Hallows is going to break my heart. 11% into the book and Hedwig’s dead, Mad-Eye’s dead, and I’m shipping Remus and Tonks so much. I know roughly which characters are killed off at the end but that doesn’t stop me from being super depressed reading about their final days in the serving in the Order of the Phoenix.

Also I’m not sure whom I hate more: Voldemort or Umbridge. Sure, Voldemort is all kinds of warped and has a heart of granite but Umbridge is almost just as mentally insane?! I’ve lost count of the number of times I wanted to punch my Kindle whenever she appears. Imagine my disappointment when she didn’t die at the end of the fifth book.

On the bright side, I’ve finished a video worth $900 – time for me to collect moneh soonest! Desperately need the funds for UB; domestic flights cost about US$200 a pop and I fully intend to visit the Harry Potter world in Florida end-December.

July

It’s finafuckingly JULY and I’m utterly stoked. Funny how I’m more excited over ending work than I am to go to New York for 4 months… I’m just so unfulfilled being here. I feel like something simple always has to go wrong daily to screw up my motivation.

I’m only doing this for two things – a letter of certification and a place on my resume. Maybe a bit for the money… I hope I’m not wasting my time, but I constantly still feel like I’m boarding a sinking ship where I’m just trying to keep my head afloat every single day by tiptoeing around everyone.

I'm rereading Harry Potter to lift my spirits a little, but I’ve already reached Order of the Phoenix and everything just goes downhill from there (shit gets serious after the Goblet of Fire onwards; all my favorite characters start dying off, starting with my absolute favorite Sirius Black. 10 years and I’ve still not forgiven Rowling). Not the best mood lifter, but I thrive on nostalgia and happier days. Glad to see that the same jokes that made me laugh at 12 still make me laugh at 22.

27 working days left

Transformers: Age of Extinction

One month and 8 days to Buffalo!

Chilling in the office in the morning is the best. A nice steaming cup of hot tea and Maroon 5's Sunday Morning puts me in a particularly good mood when it's raining outside. Sweater weather is the best kind of weather.

As usual I'm back with movie talk - Transformers: Age of Never Ending Explosions (even by my standards!) It felt like the movie didn't want to end, even though it's 2.5 hours and I've sat through longer movies than that. The front was too damn draggy - lots of pish posh and background for a plot that wound up to be pretty weak anyway. I don't even remember the plot, mostly explosions and guns, really. The new cast was okay. The new girl Nicola Peltz (she's 3 years younger than me wtf) was fine, very pretty, with that same no-personality aura all the previous Transformers girls gave. 

Also I just realized that Mark Wahlberg was the main guy in Ted (recently watched Ted and hated it to the point where I left it off somewhere in the middle - complete waste of time. Sorry, not my brand of humor.)

My major gripe was that there was too little screen time for the Dinobots. The Dinobots was clearly one of the highlights but they barely got 10 - 15 minutes of screen time. 

How awesome is this though really. Michael Bay be like "So I heard you like the Transformers... Let me give you a Transformer riding a Transformer."

Time for me to continue reading Goblet of Fire. I've been rereading all my old Harry Potter books lately on my Kindle. The nostalgia is overwhelming. Also I think I've matured enough to not throw a hissy fit after Sirius and Dumbledore dies. (But what's the point of reading after both my favorite characters die, really)

Some infinities are bigger than other infinities

Some cunts are also bigger than other assholes.

I finally got to watch TFIOS yesterday... And it was HORRIBLE. The movie experience, I mean, not the movie. I couldn't concentrate on the movie because I had the misfortune of sitting in front of the two biggest cunts in the world. Throughout the whole thing these two assholes couldn't stop tittering, making snide comments and competing to see who could laugh the loudest at tearjerking parts.

I hope what's left of your dicks get chewed off by hyenas.

I was thisclose to turning around and dumping my ice lemon tea on them- that's how frustrated I was. I was seething by the end of the movie, mostly at myself because I didn't punch them when I could.

I'm going to have to download the movie after it comes out. Or maybe it will appear on the in-flight entertainment system on my flight to New York in August? I dunno. I'm already predicting the in-flight movies I might watch. Apparently July has The Winter Soldier, Divergent and 300 - all pretty decent movies. Better than June's Robocop and Pompeii HAHA sorry I don't want to be stuck on a flight with Robocop and Pompeii. I'm thinking definitely The Amazing Spider-man 2 and X-Men Days of Future Past in August, since it came out in May. Days of Future Past for the fourth time this year maybe.

I'm revisiting my perfect Harry Potter seasoned childhood by rereading the books! I'm feeling all sorts of nostalgia with the Philosopher's Stone so far. I'd stopped at the Half Blood Prince because I was infuriated after Rowling killed off two of my favorite characters (Sirius and Albus). Now that I know she's killed off many other lovely characters in the final book, it makes me less upset to read them because I know what's coming. I like the feeling of certainty and closure.

One more day to the weekend. I'm engaging in some paid freelance work Saturday, but at least I get to sleep in until the sun roasts my ass.

No really it's just all John Green's fault here

I'm going to watch this later with Cheryl and I. Am. Not. Prepared.

My face will leak and my heart will break but I will still watch it anyway. I usually avoid the hell out of sad movies because I think it's silly for you to go pay $7-$12 to sit in a cinema and come out feeling miserable. But I really liked the book so I want to watch the movie and see how it matches up... Ahhh.

Watched How to Train Your Dragon 2 yesterday with Si Yi. It was okay, because I guess that the first show is always the best. But among all the other animation films, How to Train Your Dragon has always been one of my faves. Super cute dragons and fight scenes? Yeah pretty much my thing.

I need to download 20,000 books and movies for storage in JARVIS (yeh that's my external HDD) before flying to NY. Shall start my sourcing now.

36 more working days 

Well, they did say the best things come free

As an aspiring videographer (still honing my skills), I’ve had many weird questions such as:

5) “Why do you need to edit? Isn’t it… you just video the thing and send to the person?”

Yes, because color correction, audio toggling, swapping of angles, subtitles etc are all bestowed upon us naturally by fairies and elves hiding behind video cameras.

4) (When I request for better lighting during the shoot) “I thought you can just change the lighting in the editing?”

Yes, I can tweak the lighting of a clip when it’s a bit dull, or a little overexposed. NOT when it looks like it was filmed in the depths of a bear’s asshole. So get up and turn on the damn light.

3) “Wah your camera so pro, really necessary meh? So rich ah.”

Then don’t use my fucking camera.

2) (When I ask for another take) “Really must do so many times ah.”

If it’s not satisfactory, no director or producer will approve of it. But ultimately it’s you who’s looking like a jackass on camera so… whatever floats your goat.

And of course, the best for last:

1) “Can you film this xxx event for me? Free?”

 

This question irks me the most. Do you go to the chup chye png auntie downstairs and ask for free lup cheong with free rice and free towgay? Auntie will fling her curry zup in your face so fast you won’t know what hit you. Do you go take a taxi and tell the uncle that you want the ride for free? Uncle will roll you over like meepok.

So why do photographers and videographers, who have invested tons of cash in their tools, get such nonsense requests? Like everyone else, we are selling a skill. We are selling a skill that you don’t have (or possess but is very shitty). We blow wads of cash on cameras, tripods, SD cards, audio devices, editing software, just to name a few basics. We need to edit extremely quickly for hours and days to bring out the best in your special day. Heck, we need to pay bills for electricity used to charge our batteries and laptops and video cameras. So why makes you think we can do this for free?

I think that the most common requests out there, also one of the more expensive requests, are wedding videos. Alan, a fellow videographer (albeit much better than I am; he does it for a living) friend of mine, laughed when I told him about my predicament – I have had multiple requests to film weddings for next to nothing. He says it’s normal for people to try their luck with videographers. He’s been approached by aunties (mere acquaintances) with requests to shoot their daughters’ wedding ceremony for free. He doesn’t even know who the heck their daughters are.

For those who don’t know, wedding videos are tedious.  They’re stressful, fast paced and extremely exhausting. From start to end, we are with either half of the married couple, all the way from 4 am in the morning, where the bride starts to puts on her makeup and dress, to the tea ceremony, to the wedding dinner march in, up till the part where the guests leave. Hopefully no video requests for what happens after the wedding, if you get my drift.

Of course, you could be partial, depending on how well you know the requester.There are certain simple things you can do for free. I will gladly film anything for my temple if needed. I have done a simple pre-wedding video before, which was fun and basically just one of those easy how-well-do-you-know-your-partner videos to show the audience during the dinner. The shoot was short, planned and it was for a good friend of mine. I also made a video for another good friend of mine during her 21st birthday party. That is no problem, but also the best I can do for free. Chasing a couple around over 14 hours in the heat and editing on the spot? No thanks- I will need more than $600 for that.

Wedding videos cost anything from $900 to $1.5k or more, depending on the videographer and the intensity of the filming. I have had some friends tell me about how couples want the videos to show every single minute detail along the way, right up to the time they march in at their swanky hotel ballroom. That means relentless, rapid editing and no breaks. The only time you are allowed to pee or eat is when you’re waiting for your video to render. This is about 5 seconds, depending on your software.

My point is: if you want to be a cheapskate on anything that happens at your wedding, don’t think you can just cut your budget by telling a videographer to work for peanuts, or worse, free. Don’t think that you can drop $8k on your wedding dress but assume someone will do your video for free. Go be a cheapo somewhere else.

Modern Times

IU's Modern Times is by far my favorite album this year- or in my overall entire history of Kpop. There's a 30's/ 40's jazz vibe to most songs, plus her voice is flawless as usual. I've been listening to the entire album in office. Sometimes it relaxes me to the point of being lethargic because it's so soothing. It kind of reminds me of something you'd hear in an indie Korean shop.

Ah, how I miss Korea. 3 times and still not sick of that place.

Recommendations and what the song reminds me of
(because I cannot describe accurately if it's jazz or what sometimes):

Epilogue (reminds of lightly curled bobs, sweet frocks, cheeky dresses, and the cobbled streets of France)
Between the Lips (reminds me of a romantic slow dance and wine),
Havana (like its namesake- havanas, a relaxing beach holiday, pina coladas, sand and bright bikinis)
Love of B (reminds me of baguettes and beautiful Parisan roadside cafes),
Friday (reminds me of drizzly morning breakfasts of scrambled eggs and bacon)
and The Red Shoes (reminds me of swing dresses and tap shoes).


Excuse my bizarre representations, but expect this from a slightly visual person.

***

Work thus far has been quite alright- no muck ups lately. My US preparations however are in pieces- I can't seem to book my visa appointment and calculating all the hidden costs like hotel and transport fees... I'm going to need a lot more than my accumulated $3k or so from interning.

(edit) Just 2 seconds after typing the words "muck up" I managed to place a super important story in the wrong template. My boss is now annoyed. The gods are laughing now. #sigh #why

Movie rant

Not prepared for the week ahead - but thankfully this Monday has been good to me so far. I'm still getting used to waking up at 4:40 am for work despite already doing it for a month or so. Grumpy level in the morning: 10/10 do not provoke.

Downloaded and watched a few movies over the weekend: Kick-Ass 2, Friends with Benefits and Carrie. I've watched Friends with Benefits before and I still like it as much as ever. I think it's a lot better than Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman's No Strings Attached? The chemistry between JT and Mila Kunis is excellent. Plus I think Mila Kunis is such as delight in the movie; I actually watched it for her more than JT. 

The other two movies were a little less exciting. I'd read the original Stephen King before and I loved the book- so creepy, haunting and mysterious. The movie was... okay. It's not great, but it's not that bad. Chloe Grace Moretz was quite splendid as Carrie, while Julianne Moore was downright crazy- in fact even crazier than the book's depiction of her nutcase mother Mrs White. There was Ansel Elgort (Divergent, TFIOS) as Tommy Ross, and his character died in the most unspectacular way ever. Hit in the head by a metal bucket ok game over thank you for your participation. 

I guess Carrie was considered acceptable compared to Kick-Ass 2. While I thought Carrie's standards lay at the boundaries between "Would buy ticket to watch in cinemas" and "Just download it at home" (though in this economy... More like the latter. Save the money to watch X-Men Days of Future Past three times haha), Kick-Ass 2 was just "Why did I even bother downloading". First of all, its debut movie was actually good. It was funny, exciting and impressive. 

Its follow up was just shit.

The lines were bad. And I mean "No, Red Mist was my superhero name. Henceforth I shall be known as The Motherfucker." kind of bad. Not to mention "We're the Toxic Mega Cunts!". Whaaaat? It baffles me how cheesy the lines are. The dipshit scriptwriter should just roll over and have his hands superglued to a concrete wall. I actually felt bad for the guy who played Red Mist (he was in Superbad, but I can't recall his name). I can't believe he could say all of that without wanting to cut his tongue out.

Maybe the next movie I'll watch is The Lunchbox. I have yet to come across a Bollywood movie good enough to rival 3 Idiots, which remains one of my top faves of all time.

Another 45 more working days to the end of internship... Then New York!

Recently I've been listening to a lot of weird songs I'd normally not listen to. Macklemore, Jason Derulo... #what

Marvel rant: X-Men Days of Future Past

(Here be spoilers. Not my fault if you haven't watched Days of Future Past)

I watched X-Men: Days of Future Past in theaters the same number of times I watched Iron Man 3 in theaters. There, I've said it.

7.5 hours of my life in the cinemas for Days of Future Past. Future Pasta. Excellent.

I had mixed feelings towards DOFP because it changed too much of the X-Men franchise. As we all know, Logan's (I have an overwhelming urge to type 'longan') altered the past and therefore likely 'changed' most of the X-Men movies. It's confusing but at the end we see that he probably changed the outcome of characters like Professor X, Scott Summers (Cyclops) and Jean Grey, which is great because the The Final Stand sucked donkey balls. I hoped he'd wiped out his little excursion to Japan out of everybody's minds too if I may say so (Yes, I didn't like The Wolverine).

Also, it's good to read this to gain more context:

X-Men Timeline

Thoughts:

1. "(William) Stryker seems to have aged significantly in the span of two years." - Good grief yes. Nice handsome young lad in DOFP, then BAM grouchy middle aged man during the time of the Vietnam War.
2. A lot of fanboys are actually raging about how Pietro Maximoff (Quicksilver) turned out in DOFP. I can just smell the rapid comparisons between the X-men's Quicksilver (Twentieth Century Fox played by Evan Peters) and the Avengers: Age of Ultron's Quicksilver (Disney/Marvel, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson). 
3. I don't know if anybody picked up Bryan Singer's easter egg, but when Maximoff (Quicksilver) said, "Huh. My mum used to know a guy with metal powers." to Magneto in the lift at the Pentagon, it's really hinting to the audience about Quicksilver's parentage (in the comics, Magneto has a set of twins- Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver).
4. Havok, one of the mutants in the army camp is Alexander Summers, a relative of Scott Summers (Cyclops).
5. But if Professor X was killed in The Last Stand by Jean Grey, how did he get to the Sentinel-ruled dystopian future?
6. The Sentinels adapt and absorb powers of fallen mutants- Emma Frost's diamond skin, Bobby's ice powers, Colossus's metal skin
7. Nightcrawler is the son of Mystique (that part I'm aware)... and Azazel? I know it's not surprising, what with Nightcrawler's skin (probably from Mystique) and his tail + teleporting abilities (Azazel).
8. That being said, how would Mystique shapeshift when she's pregnant? Does she get to shapeshift into someone who's not pregnant? Where does the baby go?
9. They've announced a new actor for Gambit. I liked Taylor Kitsch as Gambit in Origins... then they replaced him with CHANNING TATUM. Sorry I like Channing-all-over-your-Tatum in Magic Mike and I have nothing against him but his roles are typically more... meathead? I cannot visualize him in a superhero movie. Ever.
10. Slight digress here, but there needs to be a Deadpool movie. Hopefully not played by Ryan Reynolds thanks

The after credits of DOFP was every bit as exciting as the movie itself. We get to see Apocalypse, the first mutant ever that lived in Egypt. He was abandoned in ancient Egypt, taken in by nomads and named En Sabah Nur ("The First One" - also the name the people were chanting in the teaser). He was revered as a god because he was the first mutant, also capable of shifting shit around with his mind so naturally people thought he was some sort of deity. If you noticed there were four riders standing in the background- the Horsemen of Apocalypse. The Horsemen change a lot of times in the comics, but they always represent Death, Pestilence, War and Famine.

That's all I know- more here. That's all you need to know, too (for now). X-Men: Apocalypse is out only in 2016, so happy waiting till then.

Starved for sleep

Barely caught any sleep last night... and now I'm feeling absolutely awful. Also exceedingly grumpy. I'm not sure if it was because of the mocha I drank at 4 pm. But it contained just one shot of caffeine...

Now I'm just sitting at my work desk looking like Grumpy Cat and grudgingly trying to keep my eyes open. My brain is on autopilot and my thoughts are garbled.

Anyhow, I managed to watch Maleficent yesterday with Cheryl. Overall it was an okay show- the graphics are splendid, Angelina Jolie's acting and makeup was on point (in fact it was really impressive) and Elle Fanning was quite likable... But the PLOT!  Good grief. It's relatively simple and there's a small twist- not gonna say what- but it was so draggy and even unexciting at times.  The first thing Cheryl and I said to each other after the movie was over was, "Er... Are you sure that was 98 minutes?"

Some people clapped after the movie and I had absolutely no idea why. Nobody clapped after X-Men, and we got to see Hugh Jackman's bum. 

Starting my Marvel rant in the next post. Hope nobody kicks a mountain of work my way.

Up all morning to look like Bucky

Status: Sitting at my work desk blogging.

Today was a fairly quiet day. Granted, I had lots of work but they were quite evenly spaced out, which I quite like. I'm okay with being busy, but not okay being buried under an avalanche of assignments.

That ambivalent, though slightly despondent feeling I get when the weekends come is here... I used to have that when I interned in poly and worked 12-hour days. As a result weekends were terribly important and all I wanted to do was go out and shop like a madman and eat like a horse. I still get this feeling now but I'm also lethargic by the end of the week because I'm still  not a morning person.

I haven't said this here yet but my working days start at 6 every morning, which means I have to be up by 4:45 each day to crawl to work. I get out of the office at 3 pm or so when the various deities and Norse gods of Asgard are smiling upon me, but that also means I look like this by the end of the day:

After that I head for Bikram yoga once or twice a week to defrost in the furnace we call a yoga room. It actually feels good because I get to regain all feeling in my limbs, despite it feeling like I just moved house from Jotunheim to Satan's living room.

I have another 30 minutes to go before I get to meet Cheryl for Maleficent! Plans: 10 minutes of furious clacking on keyboard and avidly frowning to look busy, 10 minutes to sit in the toilet to read 9GAG, and another 10 minutes to hide under the desk to pick up biscuit crumbs. 

This weekend will be much livelier than my previous two shitty ones- alumni dinner Friday and Kelly's birthday party Sunday. Saturday will be well spent online looking at clothes I cannot afford and watching Orphan Black.

End of this scattered thoughts fueled post. Will be doing another post on X-Men: Days of Future Past soon x

Teeny tiny itsy bitsy

I really like to shop. A lot. Whoever created online shopping is a cross between a total saint and a complete devil.  Lately I've been browsing more blogshops than usual. End result: peeved.

I'm 1.7 m and 54 kg (let's just put it out there ok), and my body type is pear shaped. By being a 1.7 m tall pear this means I'm pretty much excluded from the average sized blogshop outfit. Blogshop outfits, I stress, are tiny. Sometimes the apparel is so tiny I am perplexed what kind of human being can fit into that scrap of cloth. Are these not made for women? Ladies? Hey blogshop owners I don't know if you've seen what a woman looks like but women generally have breasts and hips. They are lovely curves on the body that differentiate us from the men. According to the so-called babydoll dress I can clearly wear as a top, I don't think you've seen what breasts look like. Or real butts.

The run-of-the-mill type of apparel I often see blogshops sell that I find ridiculous:

1. Unnaturally short dresses.
These often end somewhere in the middle of the average teenage girl's thighs. For me, it covers my crotch if I'm lucky.

2. Weirdly short crop tops. I understand that crop tops are meant to be short to showcase your abs or lack thereof, but sometimes these manufacturers go nuts and make crop tops that just scream Underboob Showcase.

3. Micro short shorts. These are just plain annoying, especially the high waisted ones that show off about half your buttcheeks. Not sure if not enough fabric or ???

I've seen so many samples of said blogshop clothes that I've started to shop at only certain online blogshops that I know carry more human-sized clothes. A for Arcade is decent, and so is Love Bonito and Dressabelle. The Tinsel Rack has some reasonable pieces sometimes. All the rest is just an irritating mish mash of similar looking clothes all from the same bloody manufacturer.

Then again, the midi skirt trend is still floating around (according to the influx of midis). All is fair, I guess, when I see these tiny petite girls practically drowning in midis. Kind of like Frodo trying to wear Gandalf's robes, which is completely hilarious.

File into boxes labeled "Open when you're ready"

I've decided to revive this blog for my sanity's sake.

I guess it's inevitable when we compare internship experiences, both internally and with other people. I don't think it's a wrong move- in fact, it helps us to classify certain companies in our head in boxes labeled the following:

1. Can consider working for them full-time
2. Can tolerate a short contract with them, but seek brighter horizons upon leaving
3. Work for them if you're in dire need of money and in no need of any sleep or social life
and the worst:
4. Do not touch with ten foot pole.

I guess my first internship in a local news corporation started off slightly boring because all I did were transcriptions, but afterwards I was really, truly part of the team to the point where they were upset I left, because I really contributed to their story pile every day. They even wrote me a card when I left, saying that I'd raised the intern bar pretty high for the following interns. /humble brag

If that wasn't the highest form of compliment, I don't know what is. Although I slogged 12-hour days everyday and didn't have much of a social life because of that, I was treated very well and I was utterly proud of the work I did. I had a great portfolio to boot, two recommendation letters and a lot of stories to tell. Strangely enough, the better part of my internship was at the business hub- completely unexpected because I was virtually writing blindly in day to day hit-or-miss situations.

Today is the 2nd of June, and I'm at another company for a 3 month summer internship. The people here are quite nice, except for maybe one person with an attitude problem... But I am not in favor of the work here, or the fairly poor organizational communication. To date I'm still perplexed by how certain technical things work in my line of producing because everybody tells me a different thing. You have absolutely no idea how irritating it is to explain to different people what I was taught. Person A says you have to change this every time. Person B says no, you cannot change this at all.

Internally I'm constantly screaming, "What do you want me to do?!" Let's just say that I renew my book of swearwords every time shit happens here.

After a little over a month here, I have already listed my regrets:

1. Should have stated an earlier finishing date.
2. Should have took the internship at Sony Pictures writing for Korean content
3. Should not have listened to my parents (in relation to number 2)
4. Will definitely get something entertainment-related in January. Movies, films, books and TV are my forte, not currencies or global markets or mergers and acquisitions
5. Deal with that, parents.

I mean, don't get me wrong. I don't explicitly hate the people here. Some of them have been nothing but nice and extremely patient with me. But I do wish certain organizational communication aspects could be dealt with in a neater manner- it's really not very nice to constantly get scolded for different things taught by different people.

Once today is down, 49 more days.

“I’m a paradox. I want to be happy, but I think of things that make me sad. I’m lazy, yet I’m ambitious. I don’t like myself, but I also love who I am. I say I don’t care, but I really do. I crave attention, but reject it when it comes my way. I’m a conflicted contradiction. If I can’t figure myself out, there’s no way anyone else has.”
- Unknown