have attempted to pack up room for roommate who will be coming in in at least 12 hours time. so since i'm going to this luau thing (read: party thing) i am trying to pack now. i'm doing ok. can see table, floor pretty clear. so anyways. just got back from tromping around boston. again, cold. and rainy. got phone and some 9 west bag which was discounted $40 us i.e. i got it for about $31 us which is probably really good since it's kinda ex in sg i dont know. but it's capacious and can probably fit my macbook so i is satisfied i think. ohgod packing. ciao.

late and cold out. so before i turn in, this anti-telemarketeering script is awesome.

in dorm room. is very cold. toes froze, so no sandals again. currently trying to fix net connection in other peoples com, back to the techie role again. is cold. should be unpacking, but can't be bothered and will be heading for social thingy soon. was supposed to be shisha on library roof, but it is COLD and RAINY so :( no shisha. still. its just next door. did i mention it's cold? it's cold. SEND ME PHOTOS hur :)

so this is sonia, posting from her new macbook. it is lovely, but getting used to it is kinda iffy. i'm working of it. and thanks to the wonderful free wireless of amerisuites. it's kind of like a lowerscale hyatt-for-the-masses..only the room is huge, and for $99 a night (USD) its really quite a deal. then again, that's considering the really really cramped accomodation we had at the econolodge at times square in ny. ny is an expensive place. EXPENSIVE. you can't imagine just how much it costs to live there. so for $139 a night we had this titchy room that was big enough for one queen sized or so bed, a cupboard for the tv, and barely enough room for the two big suitcases and random big floppy bags. and it was squeezy. the toiletries were quite atas (high class) though. clairol herbal shampoos in little bottles. you spend 7 bucks back home for a big bottle heh.

new york wasn't as overwhelming as i expected, for it being the big apple and city and all. but it's kinda scary that you can be very, very faceless there. you may be in a city of six million people, and you can be very alone. like that lat comicl, where he's in paris and is writing to his mom. he says "you ask if i feel alone. in this city of 6 million lovers? yes mum."

but anyways. lots of ny to see, but the best bits of it i feel are above your head. you have to look up to appreciate the architecture, the skyline...and the neon lights of times square and the blink[er]ing lights of broadway. speaking of which, i saw two shows there :) the first was the producers, which we rushed to just after moving our bags into our room. econolodge times square is just next to broadway, so we puttered to the ticket booth, and subsequently rushed for the show. which was good :) though i thought the songs were faster than the movie and the comedic timing less so, but then again this doesn't have the benefit of editing and retakes so. then also caught SPAMALOT!!!! so awesome. i want the killerbunnyslippers of doooom. they are SO AWESOME. i cannot stress the wonderfulness of this enough. and the new songs are also quite good too :D mwaha.

the rest of ny was spent at the museum of modern art >.< there are 6 levels of exhibits. we went from opening to closing time (1030-1730) and only got through 3 levels. there is just so much to see, from the cezannes to the dada movement (go check it up, it's quite interesting). i like man ray's obstruction, especially the idea behind it. if only we had enough coat hangers. obstructing the universe sounds quite cool. call me a philistine, but seeing everything from cezanne's the bather to monet's reflections of clouds on a lily pond (i never KNEW it was so GIMONGOUS) to dali's melting clocks (didn't know it was so small, the detailing belies its size) to warhol's soup cans is good for the soul. everyone should go to visit an art gallery with acclaimed masterpieces that culture vultures adore once in a while. makes you feel alive again.

and i've been using the word gimongous a lot lately. for everything from buildings to paintings to SQUIRRELS. they are HUGE. like the sparrows, because they are cold and fat.

boston is cold, and large. all that walking around kills the feet. met a few tufts people here in amerisuites too...some going for IO, some for FIT, meh. we'll see how everything goes...moving in tomorrow. so until i actually get wireless again, ciao.

..enough, now.

agagooga has done it again :) this is a scream.

so today was wonderful and amusing. i like ebullient and high :)

we're living on borrowed time.

music of the moment - duke ellington (or whoever was playing) - i'm beginning to see the light

mm so its one more year, more responsibility, but i don't know about more trust. i don't know if i trust myself, not after my actions these past few months. but i'll grow, i'll learn, i'll get better. we'll see how that one goes. thanks to all :) love you guys lotses and very muchly too :)

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what hezbollah really is, or the nature of hezbollah (or rather hizb allah, "gods army") is important. got to talking about it at dinner today, and it's interesting how what me dad said corresponded to what the article says.

for one, he theorises the current hezbollah arose out of the 1982 lebanon war. which is interesting. that would mean that for, say, five years after the war, maybe even a decade, the generation that were kids during the war grew up on a legacy of hatred and knowledge that they were being bombed by The Enemy. they were brought up learning to hate The Other, probably not knowing or caring that they themselves were also retaliating. so now, around 25 years in the future, the disaffected are returning with a vengeance. literally.

and in a very very ironic and depressing cycle, israel is just bombing the shit out of them again, with no thought to the fact that their consequences are gonna come back to bite them in the ass big time another quarter century down the road. israel and palestine, seemingly, are not the only ones that are largely defined by who they hate. hezbollah is as well - according to the article, they flourish because they proclaim they represent the Resistance To The Oppressor, the path to freedom. and all israel is doing is reinforcing this.

and yes, they are squandering their rare portion of goodwill. with the backing of the world's most powerful nation (militarily, and possibly for now economically), they can seemingly afford to piss off people in order to show the world that this new government is not to be trifled with. but you can't. you have to cultivate relations, you have to cultivate people, if you want to end this. nothing was ever built on a foundation of hatred, of enmity and distrust. but i dont know if that's what they want, an continuation of the war.

all this short term things, short term plans. no integration, just forcing people to follow you with no regard. it sounds like the usa for some reason. interestingly when blair offered to mediate between india and pakistan (i think), they politely rebuffed him with a "you don't have the civilisation to deal with us". that's an interesting thought, when applied to america. compared to britain, china, india...the us is a teenager with a lot of power, telling 40 year olds what to do. yes, the 40 year olds may not be in the best of shape, but they remember the good old days and are proud of it. and they know the value of cultivating goodwill, which the us isn't doing right now. it'll be interesting to see how this turns out.