Mom (to youngest bro) : "We just came from this activity that your sis organised, ArchiTours.. It was nice.. you know, you should get involved in more activities outside school, it will be good for you.."

Youngest bro: "Yeah mom, in fact, I'm involved in this activity called Prom Nite.."

Mom: "Oh? Prom nite? What is that?"

Youngest bro: "Uhm, you can just ask sis.. but it requires me to go with a girl..."

Mom: "?????"

__

Me: "Whoa, so you're here and he's in your home country?"

A: "Yeah.. and I just get used to life without him, you know.. even though we're in a relationship.. but then I'll go back, and meet him, and again tell myself, "I want this..I want this relationship.."

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"We are each our own devil, and we make this world our Hell."

- Oscar Wilde

"If you're going through Hell, keep going."

- Winston Churchill

After running the first day of ArchiTours in which there were a monumental number of glitches and obstacles,

Me: "Oh man...Hufh...I think I just used up my quota of bad luck for the next ten years..."

J: "Hate to tell you this, but there's no such thing as a quota for bad luck.."

Me: "Shucks...I guess you're right..."

____

ZF: "You know about Tsinghua university in Beijing?"

Me: "Yeah, why?"

ZF: "My friend is from there, and he told me, in Tsinghua, because people are so busy and don't really take care of themselves, the females look like males, and the males don't look like human beings..."

Me: "Whoa...."

(I have yet to clarify this with other Chinese friends..)

Am officially in deep shit. Let's see how the week unfolds and hopefully I'm in one piece by the end of it.

Amen.

Hittin' On Girls..

Was taking the MRT to Chinatown today to meet up with a building manager for ArchiTours ( http://www.archifest.sg/index.php/humanity/event/architours/tour/ ) *no harm in a bit of advertising ;p * and was just sitting 2 seats away from an office lady when this French guy came in.. The compartment was kinda empty so I was able to hear their conversation...

Suspicious-looking French Guy: *to office lady* "Hi, you're going to work?" *knew right away that he was French due to the cutely accented English...*

Office Lady: "Uhm...ya.."

SFG: "Yeah me too... I work in Tanjong Pagar, you know... bla bla bla..."

*SFG proceeded with the small talk, and OL was kinda confused but still answering..and then..*

SFG: "May I know what is your name?"

OL: "Crystal"

SFG: "Hi Crystal.. nice to meet you.. do you think we can meet again?"

OL: "Uhm... sorry but I'm not good at making friends..." *weird answer! which shows the lady was bloody nervous..*

SFG: "Oh, it's ok.... But you know, we only live once..."

___

At this point I had to go down from the MRT...but it was bizarre! Who uses pick-up lines like "We only live once"... Especially since the guy was French, I expected something better hahaha...

It makes me think of the difference between Asian and Western culture again... I kind of pity the lady actually, it was clear she was very uncomfortable, and in my head I was like, "Whoa dude.. you're doing irreparrable damage there...Easy, man..."

Wonder if it's just a coincidence that in French, the phrase "hitting on" someone means sleeping with them hahaha... Well, just wondering.... 

500 Days of Summer, and The One

"The girl of my dreams... has.. you know....big boobs...and like sports better, and be a little hotter..and has a slightly different hairstyle... but Robin.. she's better than the girl of my dreams.. she's real.."

- Paul, 500 days of Summer

*A pretty funny movie - granted it's romantic comedy - where the main character is an architect wannabe that wants to be an architect... and the movie portrays quite well someone who is fascinated with buildings hahaha.. I think that is reason enough to watch it!*

___

And below, a short excerpt of the interview with the director:

Cinematical: There's a terrific scene in the film where a character says, "just because someone likes the same thing that another person likes, it doesn't mean that they're your soul mate." For you, what is it that you think these two people really share or what connects them that either the audience will recognize, or at least Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character responds so strongly to?

Webb: Well, I think that they're both young, they're both single, they're in this work environment where they spend a lot of time with each other, and when you mix that together and they're both attractive people, what else is going to happen? Romance grows from that, from proximity, and he may construe these things as destiny or fate or whatever, but the truth is, I suppose, that it's not uncommon for people to have similar interests, and how much you weigh that is really up to you. My feeling is that Tom reads too much into it.

___

The movie plays with the concept of "The One".. Something that I'm still pretty sure I don't believe in..  Maybe "The One" doesn't mean your soulmate, someone destined to be with you, not even someone that has so many similar interests with you.. "The One" just means someone you really really really want... you want them so much you can't see anyone else beside them, and that's when they become "The One".... Haaaa.... I'm still pretty good at being pseudo-profound, after all hahahaha....

On Hell and Pigs..

Me: "I just read a book today, The Gargoyle, and inside there's this Icelandic character that talks about Icelandic Hell...and the concept is that Hell is bloody cold.. It just struck me as pretty cool.. Maybe if you've spent your whole life in bloody cold weather then a hot hell doesn't seem so scary after all hahaha..."

D: "Surely the whole heat thing in Hell is allegorical.. so yeah.. guess wherever you consider your worst nightmare should be hell.. It's also permanently dark for Icelanders, cuz a friend who went to norway said he became very depressed there because it's so dark.. Maybe it's the same in Iceland.."

Me: "If there's a hell what would yours be like?"

D: "Good question.."

Me: "Mine..hmm... without books at all, no musical instrument, no way of entertaining myself.. I'd go nuts with boredom, except I can't go nuts because it's hell.."

D: "and maybe there should be a permanently empty fridge.."

Me: "Just to torment me further... ok I guess it is the common idea of hell.."

D: "Have you ever seen those videos of pigs in pig sheds?"

Me: "Just photos, and read about it.why?"

D: "They have no stimulation at all cuz they're in the same pen all their life and they just go insane from boredom.."

Me: "WHOA REALLY???"

D: "They start chewing on the metal bars to get some sort of stimulation...."

____

Most enlightening conversation I had today... Am just thankful I don't believe in the Buddhist concept of karma because right now I would be dreading being born as a farmed pig in my next life huhuhu..

On (What Else) Studying Architecture...

"Architects are late bloomers. Most architects do not hit their professional stride until around age 50! There is perhaps no other profession that requires one to integrate such a broad range of knowledge into something so specific and concrete. An architect must be knowledgeable in history, art, sociology, physics, psychology, materiality, symbology,political process, and innumerable other fields, and must create a building that meets regulatory codes, keeps out the weather, withstands earthquakes, has functioning elevators and mechanical systems, and meets the complex functional and emotional needs of its users. Learning to integrate so many concerns into a cohesive product takes a long time, with lots of trial and error along the way. If you're going to be in the field of architecture, be in it for the long haul. It's worth it."

- Matthew Frederick, 101 Things I Learnt in Architecture School

Hit by sudden realization that I'm on my 4th year and I'm only gonna be in school for another 2 years or even less.. Suddenly sad.. Nooooooo...... Hiks... Whichever way I look at it, the climate in architecture school makes me express myself everyday, think about new inventions, learn so many interesting things.. I'm gonna miss it badly.. (sudden determination to maximize my remaining time in school.. Uoooh!!) Remembering all my fantasy projects and larger-than-life concepts.. I don't think at any point in my future life I'll be encouraged to think of bizarre, bizarre ideas and then just playing, trying to make them work... Haih... Plus, am in landscape now.. and though I feel that I can make a real difference more by becoming a landscape architect, I kinda miss struggling with all the complexities of designing a building...

And.... kinda feel like I haven't learn much during these 3 years in archi.. Well ok I learnt much, but not enough.. Not in a "real-life architecture" way.. The quote above calms me down a bit, actually, because well, if most architects don't hit their professional stride until 50, then I have hope.. (Though am wondering whether, after surrendering my youth to archi, now I have to surrender my middle-age period as well.. Hmm...) Oh wow... Now wondering when I'll have my first design built, and what will it be.. Hahaha.. 

Whatever it is... I love archi! =)