Once In A Blue Moon

Protege means mentee or apprentice. I wonder why the movie’s branding team didn’t come up with an easier-to-pronounce title for the movie;it is pronounced as ‘pro-tay-je’ instead of ‘pro-tij’.

As most of you who have read reviews would have known, this is a story revolving drugs and undercover-elements that are not new in the movie industry. Some critics have said that it ain’t as great as the movie claims to be; however, do watch it without having a bar set in your mind. Infernal Affairs I has truly captured us first with its suspense involving gangsters and undercover; however, it doesn’t mean that Protege is not worth watching. After all, Babel has several Golden Globe Award nominations but my friends who have watched it has no good things to say about it.

From left: Peter Chan (the producer I Think), Mr. I-dunno-who, Louis Koo, Chang Jing Chu, Daniel Wu, Andy Lau.

Spoiler Alert starts

The storyline is centred around Lik (starred by the lengchai actor, Daniel Wu *drool*) who plays an undercover in the drug dealing business. His relationship with the boss, Quan (starred by Andy Lau) surpasses that of boss and worker-they are like old pals who care about each other. Quan trusts Lik so much that he started to teach him the trade, treating him as his protege.

Lik has an encounter with Fan (starred by a chinese actress Chang Jing Chu who speaks reallu sucky cantonese =_=) Fan is a drug addict who tries really hard to get rid of the habit-she got hooked on drug because she wanted to prove to her husband (starred by Louis Koo) that it is possible to quit the habit.

Spoiler Alert Ends

*Drool* Daniel Wu is so good-looking. I have to admit that he is more versatile than Takeshi Kaneshiro in acting.

Thought 1:

When there is demand, there will always be supply. But, if there is no supply, the demand will dwindle eventually (in an ideal situation). The drug dealers are those who got their values wrong thinking that they aren’t at fault in the business.

Thought 2 (Spoiler alert!!)

Which is scarier, drugs or emptiness? In the movie,when Quan and Fan passed away, Lik finally knew why people take drugs. It is emptiness. The emptiness got into him so much so that he nearly injected himself with heroin-until Fan’s cute little daughter came and threw the needle away. (in the ending)

Daniel Wu was posed with that same question during interview. His reply was, drug is scarier, because you can always turn to families and friends when you feel the emptiness of life.

Thought 3

The police who goes undercover must really hold onto his values and principles. Since the temptations in drug dealing (and also drug taking) is so great (the profits are in millions)when you are in the business, there must be such a strong will to hold you back from getting yourself into an abyss of darkness, a road with no return. You work your whole life as a cop and there is still no way you can earn as much as you do in drug dealing, so you should always be strong to resist temptations.

If you like suspense, humour amidst the ‘dark feeling’ of the movie, watching good looking guys guy (since Louis Koo looks like a bastard there) and aren’t those who expect too much, then Protege is worth your $ =) At least it is worth when you go to the cinema with your student ID like me (RM 6 instead of RM11). I love being a student!!

There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved. - George Sand -

Naturally everyone will be thinking of the girl-guy love since Valentines’ day is around the corner. However, remember there is also sibling love, friendship love and above all, the unconditional parental love. Do not always be the taker in a relationship, remember ‘it is in giving that we receive’, and there is much joy in giving too =)

Love is strong yet delicate.
It can be broken.
To truly love is to understand this.
To be in love is to respect this.
- Stephen Packer

I once read that relationship is like holding grains of sand in your palms; held too tightly,they cling onto your palm so much that it sticks there, held too loosely, you risk losing them. Given that the meaning behind his quote is so deep, it is clear that one who is truly in a relationship requires mutual understanding of the other party.

Don’t you all realise that we can roughly categorise people in a relationship, or so they claimed/ thought, into a few categories:

1. The Real Relationship

This is what I see as the whole point about being in love. Being in love, besides having the unexplainable romantic feeling, is to understand the person well, be able to carry interesting conversations (i.e. find the person interesting to talk to), to share the sorrows besides the joy, to offer support and care in the course of the relationship. In other words, it goes beyond looks.

Of course the more likely scenario is you tend to be interested to talk to someone whose look catches your attention (i.e. the person is either good-looking or pleasant-looking to you). However, if by fate, you get to know the person well (same society/class/work place/always bumping into each other), then you may get attracted to the person’s personality as days go by.

2. The Multipurpose Partner

I would just like to say how sickening it is to have girls having boyfriends just so that they have an ATM machine, have someone to be their driver (and also their friends’ driver), movie partners etc. Likewise, it is also disgusting to see that guys have girlfriends just so that they can show off to their friends and satisfy their sexual desires.

Some people may protest and point out that it is a mutual thing, so if both are willing, who cares? Oh well, I am just stating my point of view; you are entitled to yours too.

3. The Mr./Ms. Lonely

Some people have always thought that relationship is a ‘complicated matter’ and are afraid of commitment. Thus, they go around preying on naive targets that foolishly thought that he/she has found someone genuine at heart, only to realise later that the person didn’t know what he/she wanted, or knew what he/she wanted so well that he/she was multiple-timing.

These group of people are usually those who keep to their own gang of  3-4 close friends; they do not like to socialise or mix with others. Thus, when his/her close friends are not around, he/she feels the loneliness (because there isn’t anyone around to listen to his/her crappy talk). What better solution than to just pick a girl/guy who can be there for you? In other words, these group of people are desperate.

They, along with Category 2 people, have breached the true meaning of love.

Enough with that. The following is my fav love poem that  I got to know about rather unexpectedly in the movie, ‘Turn left, Turn Right’ (starring Gigi Leung and the ever charming Takeshi Kaneshiro). It was originally written in Polish by Wislawa Szmborska. Read a few times to really grasp the essence of it

all=) Indeed it is beautifually written.

Love at First Sight
Wislawa Szymborska

Happy Valentines’ Day to those who have found their true love, to those who are genuinely in love with each other ^_^ To those who are not attached yet, enjoy your singlehood till you and your one find each other in the end.

              Today (2/11/07) is my friends’ ket and brandon’s 21st birthdays. I smsed both of them yesterday but ket only got the sms today!! I then found out that he was in msia till this afternoon and I sent the sms to his hk hp-no wonder the delay!! He didn’t inform me *fine la* coz he was here only for a short period of time.

               Ket told me that he was back here to promote his uni, and yesterday night he didn’t celebrate coz he had some stuff to do. I may seem like blabbering but as you read on, you will see what point I am trying to make. You see,my other friend, sm’s birthday is next week and he is throwing a 21st birthday party. When I told steph what I intended to get for him, she said ‘21 is a big thing and you are getting ____?’ (can’t mention here la) Another friend edward told me that it is a pretty big thing in NZ and they got a sake for a guy friend on his 21st bday.

           So my point is, how big is a 21st birthday to you? I know when you hit 21, it is like the legal age from the viewpoint of law. A person can be his own custodian for those inherited properties that his dad left for him. Then 21 also means that one can vote for the country election for the first time, and also to enter casinoes and clubs (for guys, coz girls of younger ages are always welcomed) legally.

The expected celebration will be to have friends hanging out with you over meal on that special day, if not a birthday party. A clubbing/ chilling at bar session may follow suit.

At laundry bar on shin’s 21st bday!

However, what if, your friends are not around on your birthday? What if you have more important things to do (like ket) on that day? What if it is exams period and everyone practically lose track of days and are too busy memorising academic stuff to remember your birthday??

             Do you realise that one card, one phone call or one sms will paint a smile and make a difference? (regardless of the fact that the birthday person is having any celebration) It is the thoughts that count; cliche it may be, but ponder over it for a few seconds. Who are those people whom you genuinely care about and occasionally think about?

             It is hard when you two are physically apart and thus not being able to be physically IN another person’s life. I hate this. I hate goodbyes. I hate missing people across the continents. But for some reasons, we all know deep down that there are people whom we can still feel the same where we left off despite a long absence in each other’s life.

Actually my parents did mention that we youngsters today ‘eaten full and nothing better to do’ (translation from chinese), meaning that we are so blessed that we do not need to worry about putting food on table or paying school fees. Thus we have the extra money and not to mention, spirit to go on and have celebrations. Indeed, we need to be thankful for all these blessings, and never think that it is ’so sad le’ when there ain’t any major celebration to celebrate your birthdays. Birthdays are also days for us to thank our mothers for bringing us to this world, don’t you think?

The other day we were in the curve and we  spotted necklace with a key pendant. Michi said jokingly that she would get me that for my birthday. I was so blur and asked ‘why?’ to which she said, ‘aiyo, freedom ma!’ (Coz my dad is ‘well-known among my friends for worrying about me when I go for night outings.) In fact that day I couldn’t join them in hartamas after fridays (for laura’s party) because I FORGOT TO BRING THE KEY =P

‘Kuala Lumpur’s Best Kept Secret ..Cyberview Lodge Resort and Spa..A 5 Star Tropical Boutique Resort set in the heart of Multimedia Supercorridor…’

Indeed, it IS a best kept secret since me, a pj girl, has NEVER heard of the hotel before. So you can imagine my lack-of-enthusiasm when I saw the not-so-eye-catching poster up in imu. After some moments of figuring out what the whole thing was about (coz it wasn’t stated IMU ball), my first reaction was,  ‘why is is NOT in hotels in bintang walk???’

As I relate to my sis about this, she told me not to underestimate the hotel because ‘since it is new and in places like cyberjaya, you may be surprised to find out that it is really nice-and cheap bcoz it is not so well-know like Mandarin Oriental (Where I hope the ball would be-never mind, there is always OUR graduation ball)’. So while surfing and chatting, I googled the hotel and was indeed delighted to find out some nice pictures =)

‘Located in the heart of Cyberjaya, just next to Putrajaya, nestled amongst award-winning tropical gardens, Cyberview Lodge Resort & Spa offers the ambiance of an exclusive five-star, boutique resort wrapped in Malaysian hospitality. Come; lose yourself in Paradise, only half way between Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and the vibrant modern city of Kuala Lumpur.’ (quoted from the official website)

               Even after discounting the fact that the pic was artificially enhanced, the website does change my initial impression on the hotel. I guess it is a different kind of 5 start hotel-one whose theme is nature.

               It is a pity I can’t upload the pics on the wonderful ballroom (bcoz the decorated it really well-so hopefully the organizing commitee will do a good job); you may visit the website HERE if you wish to; and click ‘inspire’ for a view of the Cindai ballroom.

There you go-a map to the place which mst of us have never heard of. Af first I was quite excited at the thought of going because carol asked me during dispensing if I am interested to go-because some of them are interested =) I thought nobody else in my batch will ever be interested in a ball that is NOT our graduation ball; actually events like this make our uni life less dry because you have something to anticipate. Now that they set it in our 1st week of study break AND a NON-bintang walk hotel, I wonder how far our enthusiasm still lies.

To me, the bottom line is STILL the people whom you go with that matter-so if my friends (my batch) and/or medic friends are going, I will think of going. If not, why would I bother dressing up and going all the way (if there are lengchais in our seniors batch, I would have met them in uni days..muahahaha)

To end this, I just feel that the organizing commitee should put up pics of the hotel and all and (if possible) a more attractive banner if they hope to make their ball a success-because my friends have not been too eager as we thought we would be.

        It is actually quite convenient to get there (from my place..hehe..i love my place!!)

           2 weeks in a row I went to the SAME TGI Fridays for 2 birthday celebrations; one is shin’s 21st bday and another one is laura’s 22nd bday. As aiky has yet to send me the pics, I can only post up pics of the celebration for Laura. Here is a chance for you all to know about my uni friends too =) btw the pics are also my debut after my haircut and new parting.

15 of us–no thorns among the roses.lol. Laura, the bday girl, is in the red Man u jersey (a note: she is NOT a man u fan, she is a liverpool fan like me *wink*)

If you all have been reading my blogs ardently, you will probably remember this name -michi/michibun as she is fondly referred to. Her name is michelle (from kuching), and she is known as the loudest girl in our batch. However, she has a big heart =) I like her for that though she likes to ‘zha’ me and disturb me. She may be frank in whatever she says but she is genuine and that is what I like about her. Thanks for being there, really. You know what I mean. *huGz*

Chia Voon from JB. She probably can earn side incomes by renting out the collection of VCDs and DVDs she has - from korean, japanese series right down to the latest season of House and Grey’s Anatomy. You name it, she got it =) She was the one who introduced me to one of my fav shows (read my friendster profile)-Stairways to Heaven. She was there when I needed a friends, though she may not be reading this, I wanna say ‘thanks for everything!’

Hui Xin from pj =) She has a sweet voice and a bubbly character. hmmm but then she is also know as ‘Mala M’ (can’t put full name here ma) by our batch-I guess th resemblance comes from the way they talk?? I am not sure. However she is ‘dai fong’ about it and is not offended when our class tease her by calling her ‘MM’

Aiyo, laura, don’t merajuk muahahhaa. I saved the best for the last. *michi that doesn’t mean you are not the best ok* (haha being diplomatic here-actually the order doesn’t matter ok! There are some other friends too also but then the pics are not here with me). Laura the bday girl is like another ‘dai ka jie’ in out batch, having a big heart and will go miles for friends from what I see.

There are 2 and a half year more (actually more than that if we add in this sem) for us to get to know each other better. May we have more sweet memories in years to come! I really hope there are friends whom I can keep for LIFE; despite ppl telling me (and me seeing it) that ppl are getting less and less genuine as we move ahead in our life, I stubbornly believe that as long as you treat ppl (must see who also since we have to practise self-defense in this crazy world.sigh)with a genuine heart, the friendship will be reciprocal.

            Lately my sis has her eyes ‘widened’ when she started training at one of the coffee retail store-  *$ (read the signs and u will know). People nowadays are so freaking superficial; and you really never know what they will do you.

             Some people always put on an angelic look and aims to be the popular barista in the place while in reality, she shuns the cleaning responsibility, choosing to serve flirt with the customers all the time. Another type of people are those who try to undermine your ability and boss you around though she is of the same rank as you. That is why we all should learn to say NO and be assertive in a tacful way, for there are mean people like that out there in the working world to pounce on us.

                My point is, how much of yourself are you going to reveal to people whom you just met, regardless of meeting them in workplace, uni, society etc?  Sometimes we want to protect ourselves that we will definitely NOT be the 100% ourself when we just meet these people. I have learnt from past experiences that the more you put into a friendship, the more you are going to get hurt if you find that the so-called friend is NOT sincere in the friendship (e.g. takes your transport for granted, always need you to settle his/her problem).

               Then there is the wavelength issue that I have always believed in. If I don’t click with you (ie. not at the same wavelength as you), I will just be your ‘hi and bye friend’. I will give you due respect if you show me some degree of respect.I do not care what you all say at the back of me-being antisocial, lansi, or cool whatever. This is because I do not want to change myself just to fit in. Sometimes I just smile and shrug off whatever remarks you pass on about me, in your effort to make fun of me or whatever. I am not those who likes to put on a mask-life is meaningless if there has to be so much pretence and fakeness.

              Indeed, friendship and relationship are all about fate. At least that is what I believe in. To all those friends whom I can be my true self with and have shown their genuine side to me, thanks a lot!! *huGz*