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

Thursday, February 19, 2009

A Fact on Love

Quote taken from 'Addicted to Love' on NTV7

In life, you meet 3 types of people:
1. The person whom you love
2. The person whom loves you
3. The person who can live with you for the rest of your life.

The unfortune thing is, most of the time, these 3 types of people are different people. Some people meet No. 1 and moved on to No.3, some meet No. 2 and moved to No.3. Some people does not even reach No.3 at all.

Fortunate or unfortunate, I met all 3 throughout my relationships. Three different people who made a significant impact in my life. I am only glad that I now have a No.3 and looking forward to it!

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Wednesday, February 18, 2009

My Favorite Valentine TV Series



To commemorate Valentines Day on 14 February, I digged out an old but memorable romantic TV series that I used to enjoy watching not only for its eye-candy casts but also terrific scripts: Jack & Jill. I love the tension between Jack (the female lead - stands for Jacqueline "Jack" Barrett played by Amanda Peet) and Jill (the male lead - stands for David "Jill" Jillefsky played by Ivan Sergei) before they fell in love to the episodes when they got together but still had tensions and fiery off-and-on relationship just to realise that they were meant to be together. It is a story about the lives of 6 singles living frugally under one roof, falling in love with one another and living out their big city dreams.

The love story between Jack & Jill is about how 2 opposites attract: Jill being the laid-back, spontaneous, not organised but fun guy who got attracted to Jack: the meticulous, perfectionist, I-like-my-life-the-way-I-want-it but emotionally vulnerable female who unexpectedly finds herself falling for Jill as well. It was fun to watch the antics of these 2 casts arguing over the smallest things and then realise how silly they are when they got back together again due to the power of their love for each other. To me, the series were pretty realistic based on their themes and love affairs. And it never hurts to gaze into the piercing eyes of Simon Rex who played Mikey, the playboy and admire the tall and amazing physique of Ivan Sergei who played Jill.

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Saturday, February 14, 2009

Things I Will Miss About Singapore

I tread my way to this 'kiasu' country not knowing what to expect, leaving my family and boyfriend to start a new life in a country foreign to me but not too far from home. What I didn't expect was that I will leave the country two and a half years later with such a heavy heart. But go I must as my calling here has ended.

Amongst the things unique to Singapore that will always be dear to my heart are below:
1. The thick foliage lining the streets after leaving Changi airport. It is such a welcoming view when I have just got back from certain countries on business trips.
2. The sweet aromatic smell of buns wafting from Bread Story when I walk past the store early morning before going to work.
3. Helpful pedestrians giving directions to me when I looked lost even when I didn't ask them first. Their directions are so precise it is as though they are afraid you will get lost.
4. The colorful neverending lights along Orchard Road months before Christmas.
5. Irisdescent lights reflected on Singapore River from bars to restaurants nearby. I was enjoying this view from Boat Quay.
6. Reading free newspaper distributed every morning and noon at the MRT stations.
7. Watching Mobile TV when taking journey on the bus.
8. How fast it is to get my legal documents like EP from the government organizations.
9. Shopping at 1am in the morning in Mustafa, the 24 hour supermarket that you can practically find anything in the world!
10. The never ending supply of soya milk and fruit juice everywhere I go, and they are cheap too.
11. The countless numbers of beautiful restaurants and cafes on the top of buildings with great views. People are spoilt for choice here.
12. Mentality of people who puts their country or company first instead of their personal benefit. Givers gain!

So, Singapore, thanks for the adventure and for giving me the chance to meet these amazing people who will now be part of my memories and now shape my future. I will not be who I am now if I had not gained these encounters. It's now time to go home. Watch this blind contestant call Scott McIntyre singing 'Home' (originally sung by Chris Daughtry) in his performance in American Idol. :)

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Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Slumdog Millionaire - The Book vs Movie



I am so glad I read the book 'Slumdog Millionaire' or the original title being 'Q&A' before I watched the movie. It was one of those books that I could not put down. I was trapped from the first sentence: 'I won a Billion Rupee from a game show and got captured because of that'. I have always been impressed with Indian writers and movie producers in their ability to come up with stories with the most magnificent twists like M. Night Syamalan's 'The Sixth Sense' which then introduced the same concept of twists in a lot of other movies. 'Slumdog Millionaire' did the same amazing unexpected twist and I am so utterly dissapointed that they did not include that same twist in that movie! In fact the movie was so far from the book that I feel like I am watching a whole different story altogether! All Danny Boyle, the producer did was take the concept of the story of a boy living in the slums of Mumbai winning 1 Billion rupees from a game show and did a movie with the same concept of reiterating his life story through each and every answers he gave.

So, here, I will give a blow by blow comparison between the book and the movie without giving out too many spoilers! Go read the book! Even though I wonder if I will feel the same if I had watched the movie first. Yes, I will still remain: The book is BETTER!












The book
The movie
Has 12 chapters which consist of a blow by blow story or encounter that contributed to the answer to each question.
Showed less than 12 questions which is actually a shortened version of the 'Who wants to be a billionaire game!
Each chapter started with his life story that led to him knowing the answer to the question and you will be compelled to guess which question will be formed from the life story while you are reading it. I actually guessed one question right and so proud of it!
The story and question mingled among one another leading to me being confused if the story actually contributed to the answer only to find out that some are meant to be only a story.
The name of the protagonist is Ram Mohamad Thomas and there is a chapter that entails how his name which consist of three races was given.
The name has been changed to Jamal Malik which is an easier to remember name but less significant with no background to the origins of the name.
Ram was an orphan from the start with his life story being how he was transferred from one orphan home to a priest to a begger agent, etc.
Jamal has a mother who was killed during a protest and he is led to run away to the house of a beggar agent.
Ram and Salim are best of friends.
Jamal and Salim are brothers.
There are so many more female characters in the book adding to the colors of the stories.
There is just 1 female character who is very very pretty and suitable for the character potrayed (IMHO).
No mockery of Indian slang. The book is written by an Indian after all!Consist of the mockery of an Indian slang: "Maybe it is written, no?" The movie is directed by a foreigner after all!


Despite all the differences, fortunately there is one similarity between the book and the movie which I feel was the most important part of the movie: the ending. Will the male and female protagonists end up togther? You have to read the book AND/OR watch the movie to know. Now, let's laugh at Eyeris' funny version of the movie not-review.

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Tuesday, February 03, 2009

My favorite spot in Singapore



There is one spot in Singapore that I would count as my favorite spot to sit and ponder. Because the breeze billows my hair into a tangled mess while I lay my eyes on the colorful, irridescent lights illuminated from the hotels and restaurants nearby reflected on the waters of the Singapore river. It gives me the tranquility to think and the inspiration to write. I would love to bring a book and read it by the river or have a notepad and just write a novel, whatever comes to mind. I also remember sitting on the bench eating my ta paued dinner (my first meal of the day) while enjoying the scenery with my friend. I am glad at least I have these memories. Simple pleasures of life.

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Monday, February 02, 2009

Can you be a non-hedonistic?

I was about to practise a non hedonistic lifestyle for a while until a package of goodies arrived at my office today. Compared to many, I am capable of refraining myself from hedonistic pursuits like eating, sleeping and socializing but thanks to my friend, I can enjoy one thing that means a lot to me while being non hedonistic - watching the excitings twists in The Bachelor Series 13! Thanks to you. You know who you are.

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How Do You Escape?


How do you escape? I watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy in which one of the patient who has been diagnosed with cancer and knew about it early on told Meredith 'I garden. I take care of my garden so well that you can't find a single pest and my sunflowers bloom so beautifully.' The victim was in so much pain and suffering, yet so nonchalant. He filled his void by a simple activity of gardening. When life treats you bad, there is no other way but to succumb and deal with it but by escaping.

How do I escape? Writing, that is what I do. There is an unfathomable pleasure in writing that I can't explain. There was once I was so pressured with work and so fed up with the person I am with but the moment I put pen to paper (in this case, fingers to keyboard), I felt like a burden lifted off me. It transforms me to a different world. I can write anything, but it has to be something from the bottom of my heart.


There were times when I argued with my ex-boyfriend, and as I had to cry so loud, I hid myself in the toilet and cried. I remember sitting on the toilet bowl and crying my heart out. I could actually sit in the toilet for more than 3 hours with a newspaper and reading it to make myself sleepy once my tears subside. That is the reason I am so compulsive about clean toilets. I remember spending so much time in the toilet that I looked at every corner of the toilet and it was indeed clean! Starting from that day, I need to have clean toilets, as to me the toilet was my place of solace and my impression of a clean toilet was fixed.

I also escape by listening to music. Music that touches my heart. I listen to a song that I can relate to over and over and over again and I write the lyrics down, putting my heart into listening to every single words uttered in the music.

I also escape by seeking friends. People say friends are the best thing one can have besides a family. And I couldn't agree more. I remembered how my friend attempted to cheer me up when they found out I was having problems and I felt so lifted.

Sometimes, I use wine, but not so much as I know that alcohol only makes you feel better only for that day. But at least for that day, I am happy and all my problems seem lifted away. Sometimes, short term escape is better than none at all. :)

People escape. It is a need. Be it by drinking, smoking, going to the waterfalls or watching a feel-good-movie, it helps. It fills the void at least for a while. We are only human after all.

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