Fan of Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki's (宮崎 駿) latest work - Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (崖の上のポニョ) is a must-watch! Suitable for all ages =) This is the first time for a looong while I went on a movie outing with my brother and it was fun! So it was not as long as his other works but still full of innocent wonder and finely crafted animation.

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea 崖の上のポニョ


I always enjoy Hayao Miyazaki's animations. The detailed and bright drawings enchant me and the story always seem so meaningful. My favourites are all here!

Spirited Away 千と千尋

I was amazed at my first sight of Haku, something about him just seemed so cool, then I realized it was the subtle way his eyes were drawn from other characters that gave him the distinction. Well, his true form is a dragon, which are river spirits in the movie lol

Princess Mononoke もののけ姫

nice MV by a fan but I think I'd prefer if the words were in Japanese, which would sound more natural and hmm, some things are better felt than said.

Kiki's Delivery Service 魔女の宅急便

I like the upbeat song!

Howl's Moving Castle ハウルの動く城

Too bad I could not find the scene of Howl, a vain foppish wizard, melting into a puddle of goo when he was devastated at his hair turning from blond to black due to Sophie's meddling. This movie was inspired by Diana Wynne Jones, who penned the Chrestomanci series, one of my favourite reads.

Whisper of the Heart 耳をすませば

This movie is nostalgic and littered with references to his other works, so watching it was like recalling all his other much-loved movies. (The sunrise was beautifully drawn)

...and of course, the signature work

My Neighbour Totoro となりのトトロ

Happy Birthday Lixiang (& a lot other ppl)!

Happy Belated Birthday Lixiang! And to a whole bunch of other 13 babies (people born on jan 13 like Lixiang, Venus... and Xianhong's brother, Xianwei)

I only msged Lixiang though... cos I lost Venus's number!!! Wish he'd enjoy his last semester in school and hall because it isn't so fun in the working world =( I've been so stressed out that I've taken an MC. My eyes are bleary and nose runny, imagine, all wrapped up in a thick woolly blanket sitting in front of the computer, sniffing and typing away... a pathetic sight but I'm secretly enjoying it compared to work... oops

Don't think I'm moping away! I'm just frustrated now because of a subordinte who doesnt seem to get it despite my patience (which has all but evaporated). It's hard learning and doing the work but even harder to teach someone, I feel I really suck as a supervisor.

However, there are a few bright points. I started of the year with a course in fire patroller, so am now a bona fide fire warden! I can identify fire types, determine which fire extinguishers are for which types and can operate them! Real, the only problem is the fire extinguisher is rather heavy, so I have to plonk it on the ground to squeeze the handles before lifting it up to aim at the fire.

Do you know Singapore has NO firewomen?

I've just discovered a happy place at my work place -- the butterfly garden! When I feel really down, I go to the garden and see butterflies flying around. Once, a butterfly landed on my finger but flitted away before I could photograph it =) it really made my day. I don't know, but seeing something so beautiful just cheers me up tremendously.

butterfly cocoons...

feeding area...

see the green butterfly among the ferns?