The molten lava chocolate cake with hazelnut gelato at Garibaldi is a gastronomical orgasm. Enough said.

Playing games may be a good way to let off some steam... but not when I'm incredibly wound up and tired out from work, it would seem. I've written about times when I've come home from the office, exhausted and close to tears, and today was just another one of those days. I feel as if my company's trying to get the most out of me before I leave, and I'm not even getting (much of) a break before I start work in London. I guess the main event which showed just how on edge I was on was when a colleague of me commented that he had never heard me lose my patience with a certain other department before today, after I went, "I don't care what they do, but they have to get it done!"

Couple my overall mental state with my competitive streak... and you just know that I'm not going to be able to take losing well.

So there I was, playing a game with a friend where I had a slight lead, when said friend makes a killer move. My reaction? I was stunned and actually had to fight from crying. I even contemplated just resigning from the game, rather than play on. "It's just a game," I told myself, "get a grip." So play on, I did. And then said friend makes another killer move, and then, this time, there was no stopping the tears.

My only consolation? That this game was played online.

I really do hate having people see me cry.

One of the reasons why I like Television Without Pity so much is because of the recappers' ability to capture what it is about any one episode that really touches me. Take, for instance, the most recently posted recap of Episode 2.05 Bring the Pain of Grey's Anatomy, where Meredith gives her "Pick Me. Choose Me. Love Me." speech, one of the most famous monologues from GA.

Some people hated that scene because they felt it made Meredith out to be needy, and didn't like that she was begging Derek to pick her even after all he put her through. But those people clearly missed the whole point of that scene. That's what happens when you fall so deeply in love with someone who doesn't - or can't - love you in the same way, and it's so incredibly painful being with them... but it's even more painful being without them that you beg them to stay anyway even as your own heart is breaking.

As Lauren S, the recapper, puts it:

It still hurts to watch this scene and I don't care how much protesting you do, you've either said or thought this with your heart breaking. If you haven't, and you can hold firm that this scene was awful and degrading and unnecessary, then just remember that when you get your heart thoroughly broken for the first time. It's what made the scene so awful, but which also made it so good: It was horrifically, completely, realistically painful.

On a somewhat related note, Season 3 of GA begins this Thursday in the US, and I am really looking forward to sating my GA fix via TWoP.

Conversations with an unexpectedly bitchy friend:

On how companies waste money on rebranding - with a particular comment on how a certain insurance company in Singapore paid S$2 million to 'rebrand' itself by changing the direction its mascot is facing:
UBF: The lion has to face east mah. Otherwise, it'd be called Great Western.

On the referee's failure to allow Berbatov's goal during the Spurs - Gunners match today (UBF is an Arsenal fan):
Me: Wah lau!!
UBF: This is called the heng-ness factor. (heng meaning lucky in dialect)

Rogue Assassin is a show I recommend everyone not to see. Even die-hard Jet Li fans would be disappointed. There isn't much, if any, martial arts action at all in this show, and although there's a rather innovative twist towards the end of the show (a twist which prompted my friend to go, "hah?!" out loud), ultimately, this show is a waste of one's time and money. Well, not the latter for the three of us who were watching us, as we were using up soon-to-expire movie vouchers, but still, the waste of my time and brain power in trying to make sense of the show was too high a price to pay for this film.

And - if you still intend to watch it, then right now, turn away because of SPOILERS - there are two overriding questions which any discerning viewer should come out with after the show:

1. What kind of sensible, top-class assassin has never met his employer after years of employment? Especially when the employer has never made any attempt to disguise who he is (i.e. voice-on-the-phone kind of stuff)?
2. What the heck is up with the Horses? If everyone has been fighting over them for 30 years, surely some time should be taken to explain exactly what makes them so valuable, and why it took the owners/thieves 30 years to move them?

And Devon Aoki? I haven't seen her in very many movies, but man, she sure has had better days.

And sure contender for the worst exchange ever in a movie?
Soon-to-be-killed Yakuza henchman to FBI agent, Jack: If we were in Japan, you'd be dead by now.
Agent Jack: We're not in Japan (shoots guy dead)

While telling my regional boss about Den of Thieves by James B. Stewart, a book about the huge Wall Street insider trading scandal involving Ivan Boeskey and Michael Milken (aka Drexel's Junk Bond King) in the late '80s, the following exchange took place:
Me: White-collar crime is really exciting!
My boss: Hey!
Me: Sorry.

Madeleine L'Engle has passed away at the age of 88.

I read her most acclaimed book, A Wrinkle in Time, in primary school as my Literature text. I'm not entirely sure I understood it back then (we didn't have Literature exams) but nevertheless, after that book, I began reading the rest of the books in the Time Quartet series. My favourite of all the books was Many Waters, a story about the Murry twins, Sandy and Dennys, set in Biblical times just before the great Flood.

I'll admit that from scientific and literary standpoints, Many Waters clearly isn't the best of the four books. What got me the most, however, was the usage of a verse from Song of Solomon 8:7 - "Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it." It became one of my favourite verses, and remains so, even today.

It's been years since I thought about those books, but I do recall that I was very fond of them, reading them over and over when I was still a teenager. Perhaps I was much younger back then, and hence, less demanding, but still, I would recommend her books to anyone, even adults.

Ratatouille is awesome. You'd think a movie about a rat as a gourmet chef wouldn't quite work out, but there isn't a single moment in the movie where I went "hang on, now, this couldn't possibly work in real life." Not that I'm saying the plot's plausible (it's not, if you step back and think about it even for a second), but the way the story's told just draws you in for the entire two hours.

Remy, the aforementioned gourmet chef-rat blessed with an amazing sense of smell, looks very much like a rat, even if he does walk on two legs, as opposed to four (to avoid having to clean his paws every time he touches food). He's an incredibly adorable rat too. If his cute face doesn't get to you, then his expressive gestures will. When Linguini, the garbage boy of the restaurant who Remy hooks up with to help him cook, asks him if he cook, Remy shrugs in one of those uniquely Gallic shrugs which say so much. On one level, the shrug says, "eh, a little," while on another level, it says, "I'm a kitchen genius, but I'm being modest." His gestures say so much that it's entirely believable that human and rat can communicate.

This isn't just a show about passion, and how far it can take you. It's also about family, and how, sometimes, we need to put aside what we feel is right for others, and trust them to make their own decisions, and to help them along the way, even if we don't entirely agree. There's a moment in the show when Remy and his father, Django, who is innately distrustful of humans, meet, and Django tells Remy that if he's determined to choose his path (of being a chef), then the entire family will be behind him and help him do what needs to be done. I couldn't help but tear up at the moment, even though I tried really hard to hide it from my movie-watching companion.

In addition to the animation of the characters, you can tell that a lot went into the scenery as well. There're scenes when the camera pans around to reveal the Paris skyline at night - from the Eiffel Tower to the Notre Dame to who knows what else - and it is absolutely breathtaking. I have been to that city a couple of times, but nothing has ever struck me as much as the beauty of that animated skyline.

I'm not going to say much more about the movie other than "go see it!" as I'm quite short on sleep (although I will also add that you need to watch out for a funny yet touching scene towards the end when feared restaurant critic, Anton Ego, tries Remy's signature dish, ratatouille). If you don't like rats, perhaps this isn't a show for you, but even then, I'd advise you to push your fears and hatred aside and just try and catch this show.

My last day of eye medication, as instructed by the doctor, was on Monday, September 4. I was hoping that the headaches would go away soon after that, but acknowledged that by the time Monday rolled around, I was around going 24 hours between eye drops with not much alleviation on the headache front.

Aside from that, I also acknowledged that three months straight on steroid eye drops (albeit different types), even with eye pressure monitoring every few weeks, couldn't possibly have been that great on my eye, and that my eye might take some time to recover from the medication itself, and that even if the infection were still there (and I hope not), I would not be willing to go back onto any medication for quite some time.

So it is, five days after stopping the medication, that I still have a slight pain above my eye. That pain feds down into the side next to my nose, and also my upper jaw. I have also learnt today, after getting more sleep than I usually get during the week, that sleeping for too long makes it hurt worse. I was somewhat relieved to find that standing up relieved the pain somewhat, but still, I am kind of worried that the pain hasn't gone away yet.

If you're wondering why I haven't gone back to see my eye doctor, it's because he's gone on vacation and will only be back next Monday. I am making an appointment to see him then, and the reason why I do not want to see someone different now is because he has the records of what he's been trying to do with my eye, and hence, it'd be more convenient because he has a sort of track record for the week I'd seen him.

But that Monday does seem very far away, and I really hope my eye is all right.

At this point, I will freely admit that I am a bit of a hypochondriac, but it is my eye, after all, and it's not at all easy to observe what's going on there.

It is now more or less official. I will be moving to London for work, and my first day of work is November 1, 2007.

It's difficult to uproot myself, having been home for over five years now, and having found a great team which I am happy working with. Indeed, it's even more difficult looking at the challenges that lie ahead, given my reputation in the region as being one of the star performers here (my boss's words, not mine).

Still, this is something I've been thinking about since graduation, and if I don't move now, I'll never move. And even if I muck it up, at the very least, I will have tried to fulfill a long-held dream instead of staying nicely safe and cosy in my comfort zone.

I'm scared, I'm nervous, I'm happy and excited and I'm sad all at once. It's a little difficult to process in such a short time, so don't ask me any questions if you see me both grinning and teary at the same time.

After some (really great and much needed) social dancing at friends' wedding dinner on Saturday night:
Me: The dancing's great! Though my knees are really feeling it now...
Friend: How're your eyes?
Me: Still hurt pretty much.
Friend: Your eyes, your knees...
Me: And my back as well, but that's doing better these days.
Friend: You know there's a song which goes, "my tits, my ass, my pussy and my crack"?
Me: Heh. Completely the opposite of whatever emotion that's supposed to be for me!

I love architecture. I'm not much of a connoisseur, but I do love buildings and taking photos of buildings.

So I found the Architecture section of The Cool Hunter really intriguing. Of the posts currently on the front page, I loved Will Alsop's plan for Middlehaven and Piers of Tomorrow the most.

Incidentally, my favourite architect is Gaudi and my favourite city architecturally-speaking is, of course, Barcelona, closely followed by London. But that's a post for another day.

After a friend's girlfriend accidentally opened a can of worms by getting into a serious discussion about relationships with another clubber while chilling out at Wine Bar:
Friend: Why did you do that? I told you not to start talking to him about it!
Girlfriend: I just thought it would be rude to start walking into Zouk when a guy wants to pour his heart out.
Friend: Nah, they're all used to it. We've known one another for quite some time already. In fact, [LittleMissRandom] can tell you all about it being part of the group and a former girlfriend of a member of the group too.
Me: (Waking up) Huh? I thought that came from experience brought on by age... (as girlfriend is a couple of years younger than I am)

Later on, while talking to said former boyfriend
Me: So, what does it all mean? Someone wants to pour out their woes and the rest of you all just go off to Zouk?
Ex-bf: Sounds like a good plan. "I have girlfriend problems." "Let's go to Zouk." "I need some advice." "Let's go to Zouk."
Me: Ha ha! Or "I think she's cheating on me." "Flaming sambuca shots! Let's DRINK!"