Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Today.Wednesday.
Sickening Youtube. I can't watch South Of Nowhere season 3 anymore!!! Dammit. And when the hell is season 5 of The L Word coming out? *misses Alice the nutcase and Shane*
To Pastor Yang of Cornerstone Community Church. I used to think that you were a great pastor. Now, I hope the God you serve forgives you for spreading hate against homosexuals.
Christians.. Such an elitist 'group'.
Anyway..
Agrr, am trying to think of a way to get my mom's permission to go to Bangkok for a holiday with friend/s. Darn lah.. she is so damn protective. Urgh.. I wanna go to Chatuchak. CHATUCHAK!!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Today.Sunday.
I really wish that you'll contact me..
Am absolutely hating the feeling of uncertainty and anxiousness.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Today.Saturday.
Went prawning last night with a few friends. It was a virgin experience for me- I'm a virgin fisherman! And I caught my first ever prawn! Had our supper at Maxwell Food Centre (Irene said her gaydar kept beeping hah!) before I reached home at 3plus in the morning.
Ala, another 3 people said that I talk/bitch/dress like a gay man!!
A total of 5 people now!
Friday, August 24, 2007
Today.Friday.
A video clip my friend Irene took during the chalet. P.S Ovidia has flexible legs omg..
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Today.Wednesday.
Start of Events Management and Retail Design.
Events Management first.
I am totally disinterested in the subject. A few of my mates and I have concluded that we need not participating in the initial decision-making process as the more outgoing ones are the ones making the decisions. It might be the habit and attitude their former schools inculcated in them. Oh BTW, I meant it in a rather positive way here.
Retail Design.
One word to describe my lecturer: LAZY.
That's all I hafta say now about school.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Today.Monday.
Just ended a 2 day chalet with my 'extended family' and other friends at NTUC pasir ris chalet. Love you guys, esp Yan for taking such a good care of me when I was drunk, and 'mom' for the panadol and the super long drive from national library to the chalet.
Jean Chong, Yan, Yan's friend from Mauritius- Hanzak(?)
Jo, Chris and I looking gloomly at the rain. We were supposed to be out cycling.
Jean Chong and Irene
Er.. 'mom' in her really weird pose
My darling 'mother', Ovidia.
Poor Jean..
Ovidia, Irene, Anj
We were both born in the year of the rabbit.
Holding on to the noisy smiling toy- Ovidia and I.
The very nice and funny Indu
The ones who made the food delicious :)
I love this collage :)
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Today.Thursday.
Finally. The end of Retail Project.
A subject that never seems to end has FINALLY finally ended.
Can't wait for tomorrow to come.
Chalet for 3 days.. its heaven to finally be able to stay out and not go back to granny's. NO NAGGING FOR 3 DAYS LAH.
----------------------------------------
Sidetracking.
Singapore government's favourite words:
"BAN" - Ban, Ban, Ban!
&
"CENSOR"- Can't blame the government for loving us too much that they have to apply CENSORSHIP for everything in this country.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Today.Tuesday.
Can the love between two people ever be an abomination? Is the chasm separating gays and lesbians and Christianity too wide to cross? Is the Bible an excuse to hate?
Members of several churches, including Cornerstone, gathered at an Indignation event as a silent form of protest. One male member of Cornerstone even waged war against homosexuals 2 years ago.
Is it only me that finds it funny how people can change their tune so fast? For I clearly remember how my sunday school teacher used to teach us that "Jesus loves me this I know, for the bible tells me so.", but the moment people finds out someone is gay, it becomes "God hates fags. Fags burn in hell.".
So then, do I believe that Jesus is an all-loving, non-judgemental God, or should I now change my perspective of him, and believe that Christianity is an exclusive club meant only for those who are deemed 'righteous'?
The funny bit about the guy from Cornostone, is that he probably doesn't realise that there are homosexuals in his church too (I know, because I have friends there).
So maybe now the church isn't as 'holy and pure' as he would like it to be, I suppose.
There is an upcoming documentary that brilliantly reconciles homosexuality and Biblical scripture, and in the process reveals that Church-sanctioned anti-gay bias is based almost solely upon a significant (and often malicious) misinterpretation of the Bible.
As the film notes, most Christians live their lives today without feeling obliged to kill anyone who works on the Sabbath or eats shrimp (as a literal reading of scripture dictates).
Through the experiences of five very normal, very Christian, very American families -- including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopalian Bishop Gene Robinson -- we discover how insightful people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child.
Informed by such respected voices as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Harvard's Peter Gomes, Orthodox Rabbi Steve Greenberg and Reverend Jimmy Creech, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO offers healing, clarity and understanding to anyone caught in the crosshairs of scripture and sexual identity.
I doubt we'll ever get to watch FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO in Singapore, so I guess the only way to view it is online. Since it is now showing in the States, I guess I can only get to watch the documentary.. Next year? Jeez.
But here is a video of an interview with the director, and his take on the issue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6Lpc4s5Yk0
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Today.Sunday.
Last day of Indignation today. The talk -about relationship and us- made me more aware of what kind of person I am/was in a present/past relationship.
Made me realised how manipulated I was.
Moving on..
It is like an extended family to a certain extend- my 'Sayoni' friends. Having a barbeque this friday, saturday and sunday at downtown east chalet. Can't wait.
Why is it that the good-looking ones are always attached? Jeez..
I'm supposed to be working on my report now.
Agrr..
And I just heard my aunt say that tomorrow is the start of the Seventh Month.
WTF.
Now I'm freaked out.
Okay, must pray more during this month.
"God, please BE WITH ME and send 100,000 angels to PROTECT me. Love ya. Signing out."
Friday, August 10, 2007
Today.Friday.
Finally the end of Retail Project. Just wanna apologise once more to Eleanor for being such an ass that day. I didn't mean to shout at you.
Anyway..
Here are some pics that I 'cope' from someone else's website. About the pink picnic. Aiya I went there too late lah.. basket.. just when they were all packing up and ready to go back home :(
My friends, except the lady on the extreme left- seen her before but I don't know her name.
Lesbian couple who migrated(?) here. With their children.. IVF/Adoption?
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Today.Thursday.National Day.
This week can be viewed as one of the worse week ever.
1) I moved in with my grandma and aunt in a 3room HDB flat.
2) Granny is irritating the shit out of me.
3) I no longer have my own personal space at home.
4) My mood has been down and I get irritated easily and sensivity to things increased tenfold.
5) I screamed at my friends when on normal days it wouldn't made me irritated.
6) I have been a jerk to the people around me.
And..
7) I JUST WANT TO HAVE A PICNIC AT THE BOTANIC GARDENS BUT I WON'T GET ONE NOW BECAUSE OF A %^& $%^& LAW LECTURER NAMED THIO LI ANN.
-------------------------------------------------------
"It was Thio Li-Ann who started it," he said. According to him, she alerted the National Parks Board and possibly other authorities to the proposed picnic named "In the Pink" that my friend Miak Siew was organising at the Botanic Gardens. This resulted in a ban.
Miak's idea was for people to come to the National Day picnic wearing something pink. It was both a colour representing sexual orientation as well as a combination of Singapore's red and white.
Another inside source had earlier also told Miak a similar story behind the ban on the Pink Picnic. The two sources corroborate each other. We know who these persons are and can therefore trust the information they gave us but I will not divulge their names.
The complaint went to the police and even up to the Deputy Prime Minister's office. The upshot was that the Botanic Gardens was told in no uncertain terms by the police (or DPM?) to look out for anyone wearing pink, and if 5 or more persons gather, the Gardens should call the police immediately. Unlawful assemblies must be stopped.
It wouldn't surprise me if extra police and Internal Security Department personnel are diverted from the National Day parade at Marina Bay to patrol the Botanic Gardens to stop and question imaginary "subversives".
The National Parks Board apparently had no idea who Miak Siew was, and so wrote a letter to me instead at my office address [2]. The letter, dated 3 August 2007, said,
It has come to our attention that People Like Us is planning to hold a series of events under the banner of Indignation 2007. Two of the events - a picnic on 9 August 2007 and a 5 km-run on 11 August 2007 - will be held in the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
As the events are advertised, they are considered organised gatherings. Permission from the National Parks Board will be required to hold them in our parks and gardens.
We have considered the matter carefully, and regret to inform you that the Board cannot allow you to hold your events at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a premier botanical institution. We do not want it to be used as a venue for interest groups to politicise their cause. For that matter, it is our policy to keep such activities out of our parks and gardens.
We seek your cooperation in this matter.
It was signed by Chin See Chung, the director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and delivered by hand to my office just before the weekend. I didn't see it until Monday evening, at which time, I promptly forwarded it to Miak.
You'll see from the Straits Times' report that Chin told the newspaper it was a "member of the public" who first alerted them to the event. This is consistent with what our contacts told us, except that they were more specific.
Miak has officially cancelled the Pink Picnic. In his statement to the gay community, he said,
The organiser received a letter from the National Parks Board over the weekend denying permission for the use of the Botanic Gardens for what it called "organised gatherings... by interest groups to politicse their cause".
The Board is clearly misinformed about the intention of "In the Pink"; it was meant as no more than a social event for friends from the community. But their misapprehension is not surprising, since anti-gay elements are constantly painting every gay activity as dangerous and subversive. We have reason to believe that the Board had been pushed to issuing their letter by such elements.
Never intending to make the picnic a politicised event in the first place, the organiser does not really want to do so now, even in the face of such provocation by the authorities. Thus, it is deemed wiser to cancel the event and issue this statement instead.
However, this does not mean individuals aren't free to go with their friends and families to the Botanic Gardens on 9 August for their own private picnics. After all, it would be a sad day if the Botanic Garrdens were to say that gay people can't stroll or picnic on their grounds simply because they are gay. Or is that what they are saying?
He told me that prior to the cancellation, there wasn't much enthusiasm for the picnic, but now that the authorities have stepped in, "lots of people want to go".
Meanwhile, radio DJs have new fodder for their glib talk. Hossan Leong on the Radio-SAF channel asked people what they wanted for Singapore's 42nd birthday. From callers, he got answers like 'lower prices' etc. Then he added, "I just want a picnic but don't think I'll get it" (or something to that effect).
* * * * *
8 Aug 2007Straits Times
No go for gay picnic, run at Botanic Gardens
By Zakir Hussain
The National Parks Board (NParks) has told gay interest group People Like Us that it cannot hold a picnic and a 5km run at the Botanic Gardens. The picnic was scheduled for tomorrow, and the run, on Saturday. NParks said it did not want the gardens 'to be used as a venue for interest groups to politicise their cause'.
Organisers have called off the picnic, at which people were to wear pink.
Said organiser Miak Siew: 'People are going to be there having a picnic anyway. It's just a social thing; it's a picnic, not a protest.'
As for the run, it is likely to take place outside the gardens, said Mr Siew, 32, an IT project manager.
Both events are part of an annual series organised by gay groups here.
On the latest decision, NParks told The Straits Times it was alerted to the events by a member of the public and saw details on the website run by People Like Us.
In an Aug 3 letter to gay activist Alex Au, Botanic Gardens director Chin See Chung said: 'As the events are advertised, they are considered organised gatherings.' Permission from NParks is required for such gatherings 'in our parks and gardens', he added.
Explaining its decision to The Straits Times, NParks said: 'The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a premier botanical institution. We do not want it to be used as a venue for interest groups to politicise their cause... Let's keep our green space as areas for relaxation and recreation.'
All communities have social events. Just as the American community in Singapore would celebrate their 4th of July, so does the gay and lesbian community. But a social event within the Gay Pride Season? Why not? Were all events during the World Bank/IMF conference related to business? Weren't there organised dinners for participants, or a cruise around the Singapore harbour?
We have no money -- few sponsors would dare help out lest they too be branded as funding a subversive campaign against the PAP government -- so we can't afford to organise a 10-course dinner at the Suntec Convention Centre. A picnic is the best we can do.
Who would have thought that as a public park, one couldn't have a social picnic in the Botanic Gardens? Don't plenty of others do that?
What this episode reveals quite starkly are two things: the campaign by the Christian anti-gay lobby to increase intolerance in Singapore, by appealing to officialdom if necessary, and the thought processes within officialdom, that make them so easily influenced by such a campaign.
There seems to be an automatic association between anything labelled as "gay" or "pro-gay" and three kinds of fears:
It spreads Aids
It converts straight people to become gay
It is a threat to internal security.
In this Botanic Gardens case, it is the third association that is evident. Must a gay group's picnic necessarily be something used by "interest groups to politicise their cause"?
Imagine an NGO that is concerned about domestic maids, organising a barbecue at the East Cost Park for maids. At other times, the NGO may speak out for better treatment of maids, but would this mean that the barbecue itself must be banned because it would "politicise their cause"?
How absurd must things get in Singapore before we grow up? Why do we see goblins and witches under every bed? Or, for that matter, every bush?
© Yawning Bread
http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2007/yax-772.htm
Well, fuck the law. I'm going out today in my pink tee. What's with the discrimination?!
Friday, August 03, 2007
Today.Friday.
Finally the end of the week and weekends have arrived!
Moving house tomorrow.
Goodbye Opera Estate.
Indignation 2007 is finally here. Indignation is Gays, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered pride month with many events. Hope I can attend this sunday's event as I may be busy moving stuff to granny's place.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A line-up of exciting events, ready to make you laugh, cry and think. This year, we present 5 diverse events, events in chronological order:
BIFOCAL
Date: Saturday, 4 August 2007
Time: 3 - 5:30 pm
Venue: 72-13
This ground-breaking event will cover issues that bisexuals face everyday in coming out, relationships and finding their own space withinthe queer community. Can bisexuals ever be monogamous? Are bisexualsin straight relationships traitors to the GLBT community? Fearless andunshy of controversy, this forum is for anyone who has once askedthese questions
DOES LIKENESS MATTER?
Date: Saturday, 4 August 2007
Time: 7:30 - 9:30 pm
Venue: 72-13
Queer-themed Chinese writing has found a place in Singapore's literarylandscape, individually. Now they will come together at this groundbreaking event, for dialogue and expression. Celebrating diversity, this promises to be a literary treat for all. Featuring academic and playwright Quah Syren, writer Ng How Wee, young writers Teng Qian Xi, Willy Yeo and more, the audience will be treated to a forum wherein the intricacies of forbidden love and its inspiration, as spoken through Singapore Chinese literary works (original and translated), are explored. Follow us as we seek camaraderie indiversity. Or perhaps it doesn't matter at all.
TALL TALES AND SHORT STORIES
Date: Sunday, 5 August 2007
Time: 7:30 - 9:30 pm
Venue: 72-13
How do women who don't pair up primarily to procreate view the expiryof their youth and ovaries? Ovidia's short story takes a light-hearted look at how one woman who's no longer entitled to free drink voucherson Ladies' Nights survives the stereotypes of middle age, straying lovers and a (sterilised) ex-stray cat.
RELATIONSHIP MYTHS
Date: Monday, 6 August 2007
Time: 7:30 - 9:30 pm
Venue:72-13
Queer relationships don't last compared to straight relationships. In this talk, Anj Ho will challenge such myths with research literature and present to you what have been found to make relationships tick. Regardless of your orientation, you will find this interactive talk refreshingly informative.
YOUR RELATIONSHIPS AND YOU
Date: Sunday, 12 August 2007
Time: 3 - 6:30 pm
Venue: 72-13
OCWomen and Sayoni are pleased to bring you a groundbreaking workshop which focusses on our selves in relationships. The workshop takes you through a light-hearted process of reflection on your past/present relationships with the aim of providing you with greater clarity and self awareness. Understanding the types of relationships we have lived through and the dynamics in the partnerships we make, gives clarity to what we are like when we are in a relationship. Understanding ourselves in our relationships is key to truly living a relationship. Clarity and honesty within is crucial when inspecting our numerous motivations and our modes of operation. Only then will we begin to know who we truly are and build the relationship that resonates us. There will also be interactive discussions on the types ofrelationships, the roles that we play in them and signs of negative relationships.For an afternoon of enlightenment, come!
Further details of events can be found at www.plu.sg/indignation orwww.sayoni.com
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Today.Thursday.
People are driving me nuts.
******** is NOT doing anything that is 'solid' for Retail Project, and her less-than-enthusiastic attitude is really fucked up.
"I am too stoned to think."
Well guess what, for someone who has done nothing, I don't understand nor fathom why are you 'stoned'.
If anyone should be 'stoned', it should be anyone else except you, and your band of 'vmers'.
-Irritated beyond words-