Shhh! Secret Life of a Princess

Random, provoking thoughts from a self-confessed princess :: with focus on motivational learnings from the media. I hope to inspire everyone to be the best they can be

Friday, March 14, 2008

A tribute to Child Prodigies and Geniuses


Music is all around you. All you need to do is listen.

So says the child prodigy in the movie 'August Rush' and I came out feeling 100 pounds lighter. U can't imagine a lot of load on my weight is due to stress at work and sometimes on relationships. I can be the thinnest person in the world but weight the most due to the burden I carry on my shoulder day in and day out. Well, back to the movie, August Rush is a movie abt love lost and found but more importantly the magic music can create in bringing love, unity and peace. It is abt an orphan boy seeking fo belonging while finding himself in music (since he is a music genius after all). The music he composed called August Rhapsody still give me goosebumps and made me feel human in this chaotic demanding world. Not many music can give me that effect with the execption of 'Gemilang' sang by our very own Malaysian Idol, Jacklyn Victor.

Watching this movie makes me reminisce on other movies of geniuses like 'Good Will Hunting' and 'A Beautiful Mind' where both have the protagonists not knowing they are geniuses and finding out through pure coincidence. Carrying enormous burden on their shoulders, they used their brilliance to escape from the harsh realities of life where they are isolated from the world, different from other human beings. It's not easy being a prodigy or genius as your 'freakness' is compensated by your brilliance noone can achieve. Well, the world is fair, but watch this and you will feel for them so much more.

Monday, March 10, 2008

The Year to Watch 'The Leap Years'



If you are proud of your own country, you would produce a movie that highlights the beautiful parts of your country, seen from the lens of a camera. At least that is what I felt coming out of the hopelessly romantic but touching movie called 'The Leap Years'. I have to commend Singapore for making such a great production highlighting the beauties of Singapore never seen through the eyes of a normal, unappreciative citizen. Good work in the locations selected. Among the scenes that captivated me are:

  1. 'Wong Li-Lin', the main actress running across the bridge in her wedding gown, fully drenched in rain' (according to one director, it was one of the most beautiful rain scenes he ahs ever seen),
  2. 'Qi Yu Wu taking a video camera of the bride on her wedding day, and through the lens of the camera, seeing her less than happy, even impatient look' (it's a different view seeing human emotions through a lens)
  3. 'Ananda Everingham' throwing a whole box of wish letters from the top of OCBS building' (a blerdy fantastic way to declare your love)
  4. 'The beautiful modified poem written by Ananda Everingham after making Li-Lin wait in the rain only to propose to her, exactly like how Li-Lin first proposed to Ananda when she wanted to date him'
  5. 'The beautiful love scene between the 2 star-crossed lovers relaxing on top of a roof, taking in scenic view of the lights from the skyscapers of Singapore along Boay Quay'.

I also liked the quotes written on the calendar every time it strikes 29 Feb, to mark the coming of every 4 years where the 2 lovers promised to meet at the same place and same time. So, while I was toiling away at work, solving the once in 4-years date problem with my company's system, I am so glad I made time to watch this movie on this Leap Year. And I am so proud that the author of the book which this movie is based on is a Malaysian, Catherine Lim.

The romantic rendezvour between the 2 lovers on their first 29 Feb date where they only had 2 hours to kill before he leaves (not in the knowledge of Li-Lin of course) reminded me of my own peculiar yet memorable dates and I thank all the guys whom have left an indelible memory in my mind. Maybe some guys know who they are ;)

  1. Barbequing on top of a covered slide Valentines Day where it is raining heavily and everyone is out in a nice, cozy restaurant. I still remember the challenge of starting fire when the wind was blowing incessantly and rain was lapping into the slide. We were left hungry as we could not start the fire for the barbaque and ended up frying the food. It was one of the most romantic dates I had and it was made better when my bf whispered 'It is not the event that counts, it is the company'. Awwww! :)
  2. Driving to the top of a hill overlooking the view of Mount Kiara (the beautiful condos with nice roofs and penthouses) eating my fav ice-cream 'Ben & Jerry's' straight from the tub and discussing about owning one of the penthouses there in the future. It was so dark on the journey there we almost didnt make it up the hill.
  3. Sleeping in the car when my boyfriend and I could not get a hotel in Genting Highlands, freezing our toes off and only having each other to warm each other up. After that freezing experience I was driven home to sleep. 6 hours later, he drove me up to Genting again as I had a party invitation to party with the Malaysian Idols as well as to watch the finale where Jacklyn Victor won! This exprience still left a sweet magical memory in the mind everytime I think of it. Imagine driving up and down Genting twice even with so little sleep. :)
  4. One of the weirdest place is when my bf brought me to an old train track where we just sat and chat, capturing the scenery of a river and people jogging along the river. There were grafitties of I Love Yous on the old wooden panels of the train tracks and we just read them and laugh. The most magnificent one was when we found unsed condom lying on the track and we laughed as we were hanging out at a very uncomfortably popular make-out spot without thinking of doing anything but chat :)
  5. One of the most memorable one had to be when my boyfriend drove me to an old jetty far in the north or East of Singapore after 10pm. Scary as it is, the view of the river from the jetty with old boats and fishing rods was pretty fascinating. The worst or best part is when his vehicle broke down in the middle of nowhere and we both had to walk almost 2 kms to the nearst petrol station at 12am on the 7th month of the Chinese calendar (in case u didnt know, it is the Ghost month). We tried flagging down a few cars but noone dared to stop. We had to alleviate our tiredness and fear by keep talking to each other and joking about the situation. When we finally got a taxi, we were so relieved after the more than 1 hour walk. Memorable :)

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