The List 2

Okay you know that List?

Of course you do.

Forget the List of 2007, this is 2009 honey, so let’s shake, rumble and roar.

Before we begin, many thanks to Google images for the awesome pics.

In our number five spot, I thought I would start with a little Asian flavour because let’s face it this guy is just hot.

5. Dominic Lau
Model and current Channel[V] VJ
photo from domlau.com

Aih the hotness. Now I have to say, good looks and effective ‘come hither’ looks non-withstanding, it is this guy’s charisma that I most appreciate when I watch him doing his thing on Channel[V]’s The List (ahh, but if course). Which leads me to say that above all, a man with charisma is more appreciated in my books than a hot man with the charisma of a cucumber. If you get a hot man with charisma, anything after that is just a bonus, really.

4. Edward Cullen
Pale, totally hot and intense star of the famed book series which has just been released as a movie, Twilight

Yes I know, once upon a time I swore Robert Pattinson is the one I’m attracted to, not Edward Cullen, but again, I take it back. Robert Pattinson seems to refuse to comb his hair. I.e. in the following:

And this is a nice picture. In every interview post Twilight I have never seen him with neatly combed hair so if you have one of those links, pass them over, but there is only room for one person in the relationship with messy hair and let’s face it, that’s always been me. Hehe, anyway, messy hair aside, Edward Cullen is hot. That scene with him and Bella, kill me now, was excruciatingly awesome. So yes, hands down, hottest vampire on my list is Edward Cullen.

3. Eric Mabius

He plays Daniel Meade, the boss to Betty of the hit TV series, Ugly Betty, who in my opinion is the luckiest biatch in the world, because if I had to work with that everyday, I would have no qualms about staying as assistant to editor forever. But yeah I know, I know, go for your dreams and all, but seriously, we can all sense that there’s gonna be a huge makeover and then they’ll hook up but seriously, Betty – some flirting here and there wouldn’t hurt. Although I have to say, she doesn’t do too badly for herself either considering she had two hot exes (Gio was dishy!). Oh right, this isn’t about Betty so hands down – Hottest Boss Award – Eric Mabius / Daniel Meade.

2. Jared Padalecki

He plays Sam Winchester from CW’s awesome ass Supernatural and a lot of people tend to think the guy who plays his brother Dean, Jensen Ackles, is hotter but I beg to differ because there’s something about Jared that is ruggedly handsome, which is way more interesting than just handsome. Plus if you’re looking at it thinking, I dunno mannnn, let me tell you that this picture does not do justice to what’s underneath, like oh, say this one -

2. JARED PADALECKI

Sigh, maybe I should have added a warning above that but I can’t hide the truth from your eyes. Hands down, hottest ghost buster, anyday, Jared Padalecki.

And lastly, for the number one man on my list.

There has been no doubt in my mind that this guy would be at the top because let’s be honest, not many guys could top him in my book.

He. is. just. that. hot.

1. WENTWORTH MILLER

I have no words.

Well, none are neccesary, anyway.
Not after that.

Stupid girl

Listening to: Ben Harper
“You can sell your soul but you can’t buy it back.”

Let it never be said that Felicia doesn’t do her homework.

I was half-watching an E! True Hollywood Story on TV the other day (half watching because there was really nothing better on, seriously with like 800+ channels and nothing good to watch, Astro should step it up) and this time it featured the rise, fall and erm comeback of a certain New Kids on the Block boy band which later came back as NKOTB (because it was cooler I guess, I dunno). Anyway a particular part of their world tour included a trip to an Asian country and one of the barricades gave way resulting in a stampede with many injuries and the fatal injury of a young girl.

Which got me to remembering the millions of Michael Jackson fans who (during his Bad era) would be screaming bloody murder, fainting, crying, you name it. And he’s not the only one. Throw in anyone who’s a major pop icon and you’re left with some weird hysteria that sweeps the nation leaving hordes of females fainting, crying and frothing at the mouth.

Now I’m not about to deny that I have had my own fair share of erm…teenybopping humiliation, believe me, there are unsent drafts of ‘Love, Your #1 fan’ letters addressed to AJ McLean of the Backstreet Boys that I would rather remain undiscovered and I would be lying if I said that everytime I saw Wentworth Miller on TV, I didn’t slightly die inside.

Anyway, that’s besides the point. It intrigued me to discover exactly why mostly women and not men, experience this curious obsession with celebrities. I mean we know the age old saying, that men mostly think with their erm, little brain when faced with a beautiful woman. Now before you bring out your pitchforks, I must say I have no idea if this is true as I am neither a man nor a little brain, so I’m venturing with an assumption here.

So if men experience this with regular non-celebrity women, then why don’t we see them throwing their underwear on Janet Jackson or falling in fits of screaming ecstasy when say, Keira Knightley announces that she isn’t seeing anybody (and again I don’t know if she is or isn’t, this is purely hypothetical)?

Which brings us to the question, why, WHY WHY do we, women do these terribly humiliating things?

As with all good researchers, the first thing I did was google various key words and believe me there were many.

why do women get celebrity crushes
why do girls get celebrity crushes
why girls act stupid around celebrities
science of tween craze
teenyboppers
why girls act stupid around hot men
celebrity crazy women

Anyway, I found basically nothing that could help me until I found a link to answerology.com that asked the perfect question: Why do only women get stupid over celebrity crushes?

Fantastic read. The forum basically discusses that men and women react differently for a reason, we’re programmed differently is all. The same way men the world over believe that they have all personally won a sports match although in actual fact, only eleven guys, five continents over were doing the playing, and we women don’t really care, is one example.

Another person discussed that there are men that behave like crazed beasts, just that they tend to be on female celebrity fan sites, which is an important distinction. The most interesting discussions revolved around the fact that women look for occupation first in men , because evolutionarily, the male with the most resources would have the greatest caretaking advantage. I.e. the famous men are in effect, wealthier, and would consequently be better providers. Of course this doesn’t explain why, female hysteria isn’t so much of an issue with males that are wealthy but are not famous.

This is where I think the role that the media plays is of paramount importance. The person in front of your screen is rarely placed there raw and untarnished by MAC or Maybelline. Glamourising a (good looking) man to the point where He is God is enough for females to believe that he is the alpha male, and one that the female is willing to fight for because it is one that is “unique” when compared to the “regular” men of the society. And fairly so, males that are not on TV do not normally walk around topless and show off their well oiled muscles.

It’s a farce and we buy into it because it’s so well commercialised that we feel the need to be a part of that “reality”. It’s good to escape reality once in a while because let’s be honest, the world has more than its share of shit. And maybe for a lot of us, that’s what it is, the one hour a week escape into a world where everything is perfect so you can forget temporarily about the world, where it isn’t.

There are many for whom the lines between reality and TV blur and then it becomes an unhealthy obsession and though that’s a whole other discussion for another day, it is a very real issue, and once again it is open for us to decide whether our media is society’s boon or bane.

I found a more scientific article which discussed the emergence of this histrionics with the rising of the first popular boy band – a phenomenon known as Beatlemania.

There are many theories discussed, the most interesting one of which is a Freudian one, which typically enough, involves sexual repression, a matter which is still threaded lightly. Anyway the gist of the theory is, adolescence (the period where teeny bopper histrionics is at its peek) is a time of “emotional, strenuous growth” which requires an expression outlet.

Boys apparently express these tensions via sports, girls however apparently release said “sexual energy” via the swooning and screaming associated with Beatlemania. I mean after all, who hasn’t associated the word ’sexy’ with these hysteria inducing males?

So coming back to the question at hand – why do only women get stupid over celebrity crushes? Blame it on the hormones and the fact that men and women are programmed to look for different things before tripping over themselves.

And to end this all can I just say:

WENTWORTH MILLER IS SO HOT I COULD DIE I CANNOT BELIEVE PRISON BREAK IS ONLY SET TO AIR IN SPRING.

Danke.

Bundle

I’m in uni at the moment waiting to meet someone about a postgraduate program in35 minutes. The guy confirmed an appointment with me but never replied me with a venue so I’m wondering what the best time would be to call and ask him. I hope it’s in a common area with brochures and stuff instead of in his office so that it will feel more casual and would prevent me from fainting in a heap of nerves. It’s not like it’s an interview or whatever.

Mental note: I really need to get some kind of personal organizer so that I don’t have to write important stuff down on the back of my hand. I need to organize my bag so I don’t walk around rummaging through it for a pen like some homeless person looking for some pennies while tissues and lip gloss and one ringgit notes fall haphazardly around me. Most of the time I start of with a calendar cum organiser and write in it diligently for the first month and then it goes missing under my bed and I only find it the next year when I’m cleaning out my room and have already purchased a new organiser. No, I have start acting like I’m a 23 year old. Going on 24 (omg).

I’m nervous. I wish I could be all cool and calm and collected and self-assured but I’m just not. I’m a big bundle of nerves. I’m wearing a black blouse and slacks and covered shoes and my hair is tied up way more neatly that I’m used to. I’m a nervous wreck hiding behind the facade of a confident honours graduate.

But it’s okay, I can do this, right? After all I’ve made some major decisions and so far, survived them all. Trust, I must trust in God and let him do His part. I cannot be going through life being so afraid all the time.

I have to be assertive (NY Resolution #1) .
So I must Ask All The Questions and Be Bold.

After that I can go home and pig out on the sofa in my pyjamas.

My picket fence

When I was a little kid I remember being afraid of a lot of things. Seriously, I had been such a happy carefree kid that anything new and alien and unfair seemed really evil to me.

I also remember being a really naive kid. Not in a stupid way but in a way that reminds me that when I younger I seemed to have all sense of right and no sense of wrong, in other words I had no idea when somebody was taking me for a ride. I believed everything everybody told me and got really hurt when it turned out to be untrue. I could not understand how that could be so, how somebody could lie to your face and expect you to be okay with such a betrayal.

As with all things, I grew up and eventually learned how to distinguish between bullshit and truth. Although I can’t be 100% sure which is which everytime, it’ s mostly instinct that I go by. About 24 years down the line and I still get a little caught be surprise. But I learn you should take risks with some people, you’ll never know who could surprise you.

I still get scared of a lot of things though, sometimes really simple ones. Another NY resolution is to force myself to face every single one of those fears. Nobody ever won anything by sitting at home twiddling their thumbs. You don’t live life by sitting on the sidelines, watching it go by.

So.
I don’t quite know why I felt the urge to write this down. Maybe because if I wrote it down it would become tangible and then something that I would have to act on. Or be reminded to act upon.

Here’s to books and covers and venturing out of picket fences.

Kambing

Listening to: Keane
“Is it any wonder that I feel afraid.”

I was going through some of the things from the box that I packed when I left the old place. There wasn’t much, I had only been there a year but the memories weighed a ton. I found gorgeous pictures, memorabilia from different vacationing spots, handwritten notes.

And this one, a note passed between me and colleague during a particularly boring Occupational Health and Safety briefing where the speaker seemed to have an aversion to low decibels.

Me: Why he yelling?
Her: Good guess, must be an occupational hazard.
Me: Partial deafness. That’s a hazard for us.
Her: He mustn’t be very good at identifying hazards.
Me: Then.. who’s the expert and what are we learning from him?
Her: That I know how to identify the difference between a hazard and a risk. He is a high level walking hazard. He is thus a risk to my sanity.
Me: And my ears.
Her: Whoever invented microphones were obviously born too late to have met him.

A few minutes later.

Me: Omg, I cannot tahan la.
Her: What is he talking about, wait, did he say kambing?
Me: I’m dreaming edy la. I woke up when he said kambing, I don’t even know what that was in context of!

Her: He seems to be involved in a lot of hazards, is he following the hazards or are they following him?
Me: Well seeing as how he’s really loud, probably the latter.
Her: Omg, he’s ending. I had begun to lose hope.
Me: At least there’s tea. Never despair!

I’m really going to miss my colleagues.
But all good things have to, sadly and inevitably, come to an end.
Time to move on.

The 2008 (sortof) roundup

Listening to: Stereophonics
“Mister Writer, why don’t you tell it like it really is, before you go on home?”
Concurrently reading: Of Love & Shadows by Isabel Allende and The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho

And so a new year is upon us.

Forgive me for my “long” departure but 2009 decided to greet me with a massive head cold that left me bed bound for a few days. However I am proud to say that I am well on my way to recovering and that already I have made some really big decisions – ones that I have been hesitating about and mulling over till I was blue in the face.

So let us get a few things out of the way. With respect to resolutions, though I have a few in mind, the one that I am hoping to accomplish most this year is to teach myself to be a more assertive person, versus someone who sits around zen-like waiting for things to fall into my lap. Faith is one thing but it is completely something else to be lifeless and to use that as a poor excuse. I need to learn that some things need to be fought valiantly for, as to show perseverance denotes a willingness to hold up your end of the deal no matter what the cost.

2008 was a memorable year to say the least. I learn a lot every year but last year (yes, it is finally in the past, thank goodness) was a long and arduous one where I learned a lot of tough life lessons and met a lot of different characters and learnt the fine art of Communication and Sifting Through the Bullshit. Hence I also learnt just how far I am willing to go and thus consequently, the lengths to which I simply will not subject myself to. I may be young, but I have dignity and the right to be happy and I will fight for that right tooth and nail.

I successfully completed my honours year, made a lot of awesome new friends and maintained some old and dear ones. You can count yourself lucky if by my age, you know the ones willing to hold your hair back while you’re slumped over the toilet bowl are the ones who’ll have your back through life.

I also fulfilled many personal goals this year and God taught me many of His own lessons in trust and perseverance. The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren is a book I will always hold close to my heart as the book that got me through a lot of rough spots. Definitely the biblical quote of 2008 for me would be from Isaiah: ’The Lord gives perfect peace to those who keep His purpose firm and puts their trust in Him.”

I know I could never have gotten through 2008 without my Lord, my family, my Barath (six years darling, woohoo!!) and some of my closest friends. If I could learn one valuable thing from them, it would be that if I could help someone immensely just by being there, that would make all the difference in the world.

And another thing; though we may pray and pray, I have learnt that sometimes, God says no, and that is an answer too. We’ll just have to deal with that and move on.

So now that the significant substantial stuff is out of the way, allow me to humbly get all material girl on you. These were my favourite gifts/purchases of 2008.

1. My new schnoodle

Say hello to the latest addition to my family;  Lincoln, my Schnauzer poodle or rather, my schnoodle. The matriach of the family, my first dog the German terrier, Lizzie, is still very much alive and he annoys her to the limit because he is 5 months old and all he wants to do is play but at eleven years old, she is the epitome of grace and elegance. Why the name Lincoln? Because I was trying to pitch ‘Scofield’ to my parents in lieu of the gorgeous Wentworth’s character from Prison Break but they preferred Lincoln, so I guess that’s the closest I could do (Go WWM!). Plus he is as naughty as he looks (re: likes to chew underwear instead of shoes) so he keeps us pretty busy throughout the day.

2. My new shoes

I dedicated my 200th post to her (or them I can’t decide) but this was my most beautiful Christmas purchase ever. She fit my entire bill of specifications.

3. My iPod touch.

I won this baby in a university level competition and at 8GB and WiFi, he can do just about anything (within its space of course.) Sigh, so sayang to start using without a casing though which will be the next thing I save up to buy.

5. My CKs

This was actually a gift from my parents for Christmas. I have to say quite unashamedly, I have never had authentic Calvin Kleins before. Seriously, this one was quite a nice surprise.

6. My inspiration to do yoga again

My brother gave me this yoga mat for Christmas because I kept moaning that I couldn’t do yoga properly without a good mat. Hence not only is it lovely, I’ll finally have no excuse to put off doing yoga anymore. I should start though, the Christmas pounds are refusing to come off on their own.

Have a lovely 2009 everyone!