the frump

weird.

I have no idea how I came upon this word and i don't know what it means but it kept popping up in my mind.

frumpy
frumpyfrumpy
frumpyfrumpyfrumpy
frumpyfrumpyfrumpyfrumpy
frumpyfrumpyfrumpyfrumpyfrumpy
frumpyfrumpyfrumpyfrumpyfrumpyfrumpy
frumpyfrumpyfrumpyfrumpyfrumpyfrumpyfrumpy
frumpyfrumpyfrumpyfrumpyfrumpyfrumpyfrumpyfrumpy

It appears so often that I thought I should make sentences with it. So I began...

I feel frumpy.
I look frumpy.
I am frumpy.

From the sound of it, it doesn't seem too flattering (think: grumpy). Oh well, not that I am feeling fabulous these days. Then today I decided to look up its meaning.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source
frump /frʌmp/ –noun
1. a person who is dowdy, drab, and unattractive.
2. a dull, old-fashioned person.
[Origin: 1545–55; orig. uncert.]
—Related forms— frumpish, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

And i decided to look further...

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source
frump (frŭmp) n.
A girl or woman regarded as dull, plain, or unfashionable.
A person regarded as colorless and primly sedate.
[Possibly short for Middle English frumple, wrinkle, from Middle Dutch verrompelen, to wrinkle : ver-, completely; see per1 in Indo-European roots + rompelen, to wrinkle.]
frump'i·ly adv., frump'i·ness n., frump'y adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth EditionCopyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Argh.

Quotable Quote

I really like this quote I read on my friend's blog...


There is no such thing as chance; and what seems to us the merest accident springs from the deepest source of destiny.

- Friedrich Schiller, 1759-1805

Show & Tell (Miscellaneous Edition)

PARIS, FRANCE: Art Nouveau Metro Sign

Even Metro signs have to be this wacky in arty-farty Paris. And the photo looks like a scene out of R.L.Stine's Goosebumps books, doesn't it?

VATICAN MUSEUM, VATICAN CITY: Commonly-seen sign

Overheard while walking down the stairs: 'Hey, is this the way to move down the stairs?'

TYROL, AUSTRIA: Sign in Pub

Anybody needs help? Get details from me!!!

TYROL, AUSTRIA: Photo of cruelty to animals.

It is normal to see a dog on a leash. But a cat? I dunno about you, but I was very uncomfortable with it. And I was creeped out when the owner actually smiled at me. %$#@*!!! Sorry I don't make friends with animal-abusers.

LONDON, ENGLAND: Street signs!

I got all excited seeing the names on the Monopoly Board right in front of me... I want to build a hotel there!

LONDON, ENGLAND: Advertisements for new book by Mark Haddon

Ahhh... surely Singapore can do better than advertise only Harry Potter books yeah? This is what we all need - food for the soul... and not another mascara to clutter my dressing table, or another magazine telling me how to lose weight...

LONDON, ENGLAND: Binoculars for hire in Queen's Theatre for Les Misérables

We could only afford the cheapest tickets and you get an idea of how far we were from the stage. Haha... but it was a superb show and I thoroughly enjoyed it - without the bino.

a book

Been reading quite a bit recently but i have not come across any books which I would absolutely recommend and put it on my 'must-read' list. I look out for three things in a good book - plot (how engaging is the story), words (the way the writer writes) and thought (if it prompts me to think further). A good gauge is when I am stuck in a dilemma where I want to finish the novel quickly yet cannnot bear for such a good novel to end.

I always lament at my lack of reading khakis. Most of my friends are people who are proud of the fact that their Literature books are the only novels they have read. They are not wrong obviously, it is a personal choice. But I wish for friends who can discuss with me the latest book they have read or their favourite author. Haiz.

So i decided to use this blog to spread my love of reading to everyone and hopefully convert my blog readers to bookworms... hahaha.. so beware!

I just finished "Purveyor of Enchantment" by Marika Cobbold and thought that it was well, not too bad but the plot failed to grab my attention. I particularly like Cobbold's writing style - witty and satirical, yet easy to understand. I could say that she is the female version of my favorite writer Nick Hornby (but more about him another time coz he deserves one full entry on my blog).

The story is nothing really interesting, about this overly-paranoid woman who finally comquered her fears and lived happily ever after with her Prince Charming. But there are lots of parts in the novel that are really funny or thought-provoking which made plodding through the somewhat confusing storyline very worthwhile.

Some snippets...

'I know I worry a lot,' Clementine whispered to Mr Scott. 'And right now, it seems to have been the most cruel waste of time, but then again, how can people not worry? I know that sleeping with a condom under my pillow might be thought of as going a little too far.'

Mr Scott stirred in his chair. 'Would that be some modern version of The Princess and the Pea?' he asked.

Clementine shook her head. 'Rape,' she hissed. 'The thought is bad enough as it is, but if you add the risk of contracting Aids.'

'I think it might be a little too optimistic to expect an intruder with rape in mind to agree to protect you against sexually transmitted diseases?' Mr Scott suggested.
__________

Once she had dreamt of making people stop and gasp at the beauty of her music, but that was before reality had pushed a stake through the heart of fantasy. As she wandered on down the garden, she found herself asking how it was that she had wasted quite so much of her life. There were a few rare people in the world whose lives took flight, who made their moment on earth count as they soared above the rest of humanity. Clementine had been born without wings, leaving her scurrying hither and thither with an occasional longing glance at the heavens. Maybe, she thought, those other people had simply been elsewhere when the rest of us learnt the meaning of pie in the sky and that life was short and ugly.

ok i decided to create my own scale... (5 stars is the maximum)

Plot: **
Words: *****
Thought: ****

Show & Tell (France Edition)

PARIS, FRANCE: The pockmarked pavements of the beautiful city of Paaarr-hee.

Now you know why our government bans chewing gum.

COMPIEGNE, FRANCE: The cobbled streets characteristic of France.

Pleasant to the eye, but a menace to your soles. You have to pray very hard that friction is on your side when you try to walk fast on rainy days.

PARIS,FRANCE: The tables and chairs in cinema-like arrangement that line the Parisian streets.

People watching is the national sport. But it is an elite sport. You need time and money, which i have neither.

PARIS, FRANCE: Parellel parked cars along the streets.

Land is scarce in Paris. So save space by parking as close together as possible. Move out by mounting the kerbs or by hitting the cars blocking the way.

TROYES, FRANCE: The only bakery in town!

We each bought a pain (=bread) in the bakery and sat in front of it to eat while waiting for the supermarket to open after its 2-hours lunch break (??!!). The boss or some worker came out and stood behind us. We all thought he was going to chase us away but guess what he did? He passed serviettes to all of us! Ahhhhh! Please don't say the French are snotty, rude and proud. They are nice, freindly and helpful! I really cannot remember any unpleasant interactions with them, even when we didn't understand a word of French initially.

PARIS, FRANCE: Yummy looking treats in the boulangerie and patisserie.

I miss the days when a typical bakery in the neighbourhood looked like that... ...

HAPPY NATIONAL DAY!

Overheard...

Little girl: I want to go there!
Daddy: No. 6 o'clock we must go home to watch the national day parade.

Ahhh.... how he loves Singapore... (note: no hint of sarcasm here. i am serious.)

There’s No Place I’d Rather Be
Singer: Kit Chan
Music & Lyrics: Jimmy Ye

I’ve walked the streets of Cairo & Bombay
I’ve seen the neon signs on old Broadway
I’ve climbed the Eiffel Tower
The Great Wall in one hour
Experience sweet and sour
But that’s ok
Seen Hollywood, the sunsets in LA
The London Bridge, Big Ben, The Thames, UK
I’ve crossed the River Kwai
Yet still I don’t know why
I think of you each night and every day
There’s no place I’d rather be
You’ll always be a part of me
And even though I’ve roamed the world
It’s still my home I long to see
This is where my family
And my friends grew up with me
So I’ll cross the skies and sail the seas
To be where I wanna be
There’s no place I’d rather be
You’ll always be a part of me
And even though I’ve roamed the world
It’s still my home I long to see
This is where my family
And my friends grew up with me
So I’ll cross the skies and sail the seas
To be where I wanna be
Cos there’s no place I’d rather be

I was tinking what I will miss most about Singapore when I am away... being greedy as I am, the first thing that came to my mind was FOOD! On second thought, maybe not coz

1. DURIAN - yucks!
2. CHILLI CRAB - dun lyk crabs... eat about a claw once a year
3. LAKSA - seldom have cravings for it... eat it maybe once a year
4. CHAR KWAY TEOW - prefer the malaysian version... never touch the singaporean version
5. CHICKEN RICE - eat it when my whole family eats it and I dont wanna be such a bother by ordering smthg else

anyway for the 2 months I was away, I missed my mummy's home cooked food and bak chor mee only. So the 1st meal I had when I came back was bak chor mee. After craving for it for so long on cold, windy and rainy days in europe, it was disappointing and unsatisfying coz the weather was sweltering hot and actually all I wanted was smthg cold. so i haven touched another bowl since then...

haha... my diet is about as un-singaporeanish as you can get - bread, biscuits & wat else... nuts.

ok, back to wat i will miss... actually it shld be wat i missed yeah? yep i missed whining to my daddy and mummy, missed irritating my icky brother, missed talking abt everything under the sun with eileen, missed calling my grandma 'ah-ma', missed gossiping and giggling with my frens, missed sms-ing many people at once, missed yakking for hours on the phone...

does tt constitute missing singapore?

i was just telling eileen the theme of the national day song this year seemed to steer away from the traditional. Rather than play on the patriotic feelings of Singaporeans or reflect on the good old days, the song this year seemed to be targeted at Singaporeans overseas... part of the govt's ploy to woo back Singaporeans who are doing well abroad, i guess. And i thought it weird coz the group of people who will sing it most often or care about it are kids in school, who may not even know where Cairo or Bombay is. And the idea of roaming the world? oh puh-leez...

anyway...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE!

an insatiable appetite for nuts

sometimes i wish i were allergic to nuts. just so i can resist the urge to munch on them right after dinner, which consisted of nuts (ok, and a muffin, but tt is not the main point). i must be a squirrel in my previous life. a very hungry squirrel indeed.