Library

In the evening, I brought Marieann and Juliane to the library nearest to our place which is Queenstown Public Library. Marieann needed to get another book in order to do her book review homework while I needed to get some travel guides on Phuket.

With my help, Marieann found 3 books of interest to her and Juliane, 4 books. I myself found 2 guides on Phuket and both are the latest edition 2008. I was lucky lol. :)

The girls enjoyed their library visit. They can't wait to go back to borrow more books when they have finished reading their books. :)

Library

I haven't been to the library for a while now. Thought it was time to read my graphic novels again, especially my Buffy. :)

I went to the library after my counselling. I managed to find a few graphic novels that are interesting to me - New Avengers, Fantastic Four, Thunderbolts, Silver Surfer, Squadron Supreme but no new volume of Buffy. Maybe the next trip? I also manged to find a book called Vanish by one of my favourite authors, Tess Gerritsen who is a crime writer. Just before I checked out the books, I saw, by chance, a book called Amara by Richard Laymon. I have read a few of his books and he is an interesting writer. But I am still unsure if I would classify him as one of my favourite authors. That is, until I saw Amara today. I think with this book, he might just make into my list of favourite authors, lol. We shall see. :)

Ok, going to read Amara now. :)

Zero Hours

Zero hour 1 - 01:20am.
I was still awake pretty late last night or pretty early this morning. Was kind of getting hungry because I only had tea in the afternoon. A good friend happened to be online and was hungry as well. We decided to go grab a midnight snack. Asked my husband if he wanted to go. All he managed to say were, "Sleep. No. Go", and went back to sleep. Hahaha. Good friend came to pick me up and we went to Holland V. We did a bit of midnight shopping at Cold Storage before settling for egg prata and roti john. I never expected to see people still out so late in the night. Nightowls, my kind. Hahaha. It has been a long time, at least 6 years, since I have been out at this time of the night. I do miss watching the midnight shows, especially the horror shows. Hahaha. So anyone interested in going for midnight snacks or midnight shows, I am game. LOL.

Zero hour 2 - 13:20pm
I was at Library @ Orchard to return Wolverine comics as well as to sign up library membership for my girls. Done in a jiffy! Now, together with my girls' library cards, I can borrow a total of 12 books. Now, friends who are comic fans, I can help you to borrow your comics and graphic novels. But be nice, be very, VERY NICE to me. HAHAHA.
PS. I think I prefer going to downtown NLB for the comics and graphic novels cos the collection there is the largest as compared to those at Queesntown Library and Library @ Orchard.

Zero hour 3 - 14:00pm
I met my mother in town to attend to some banking matters at two banks. The last bank was at The Centrepoint. I have only been to The Centrepoint thrice since they renovated it. I used to go there much, MUCH MORE OFTEN because my alma mater, SCGS used to be on Emerald Hill Road. Hahaha. After graduation, the visits became less often. Being at Centrepoint today, sure brings back fond memories of my schooldays. =)

Updated 14 May 2007, 11:15pm
I have decided to put reading The Sandman comics on hold. I have moved on to reading "Dance of Death" first as I realised that I have to return it sooner than The Sandman. Besides, I have been wondering what happened to Pendergast. I just can't resist mysteries. Need to find out what happened .... Hahaha.

Spiderman 3 and NLB

As planned last night, I went to see "Spiderman 3" at 10:15am, Lido. I had wanted to go to Bugis initially but I was running late. So the nearest cinema, I went. Morning is a good time to watch movies because there aren't many people around. It was just me, my sweet popcorn and Spiderman. Hahaha.

"Spiderman 3" is definitely better than the first two in terms of character development, and much more action sequences. You now have two villains instead of the usual one villain - Sandman and Venom. I used to read Spiderman comics and I remembered reading about Venom. I was interested to see how they would portray it in the movie.
Overall, "Spiderman 3" is action-packed and exciting. There's action and there's a story line of secret, vengeance, love and forgiveness. What more can you ask for. Hahaha. The only downside, to me at least, was that the ending seemed to be a little too abrupt and too good to be true. Maybe they ran out of time to do a proper wrap-up, after all the movie went for 140 minutes. I shan't say anymore in case I give away more than I should of the story. The soundtrack is quite good too, especially the song "Signal Fire" by Snow Patrol. Yes, I sat there in the darkness until the end of the credits. I have too much time, some of you would say. Hahaha.

There are two scenes that are stuck in my mind from "Spiderman 3":
- the one where Spiderman (in black) was on the church spire like a gargoyle - it was a very powerful imagery that spoke louder than words and actions, there just so much emotion in that simple image, and
- the one (at the end) where Peter (Spiderman) and Harry spoke about being friends, best friends. I am touched by this scene because I am one person who treasures friendship very much.

After the movie, I went down to NLB. Yes, again. Hahaha. I went to return my books as well as to borrow more books. I took SA's suggestions and borrowed two books by Preston & Child: "The Cabinet of Curiosities" and "Dance of Death"
I also borrowed a third book, "Freakonomics" for my friend. (There's no way I would read such books. It's on a subject that I really dislike - economics. Hahaha.)

Just an aside: it is really amazing how the blog can actually connect people together. After my post last night, I have got a friend asking me to let him know when I am going to see "28 Weeks Later" and another who asked me to help get him the book from NLB.

Thank you, my friends for reading my blog. Greatly appreciated it. =)

PS. I have started reading "The Cabinet of Curiosities". :)

An Impromptu Visit

The weekend is upon me. I just want to relax this weekend. What am I going to do? I have an idea...

I made an impromptu visit to the NLB after work! I thought why not?! It is not like I have something to do at home. My writing is on track. My work is more or less done. I have finished reading my "Ice Station". I am going to be sooooooo BORED. So off to the library to borrow some books!

Armed with the book list that SA passed me a week ago. I made my way down to the library via MRT. Being not very good with directions, I got a bit lost at Bugis cos I couldn't find the right entrance out to the library. Hahaha. Or maybe it was my subconscious who wanted me "lost" so that I would wonder among the shops a while longer. HAHAHA.

I found the books I wanted at the library. It took me quite a while to decide which ones to borrow. I didn't want to get too many books and end up not being able to finish them. By the way, SA, Reilly's "Seven Ancient Wonders" is out on loan. But you still have the option of borrowing from me. :D Hahaha. I thought I might also borrow a graphic novel or two. But I ended up really lost cos I didn't know the sequence of which ones to borrow first. SA, could use an advice or two on this. Feel kinda stupid. :P Hahaha.

I borrowed two books in the end:
Preston and Child's "Brimstone" of the Pendergast series (SA's recommendation) and Reilly's "Area 7" (which features the same hero, Schofield from "Ice Station").

I am so HAPPY to be reading again. =)

PS. Don't worry. I always have time to chat with friends. So feel free to contact me via my email, MSN or my blog. Will be up late as usual. Hahaha. Talk to you later.

Updated 5 May 2007, 1:37am
I started reading "Brimstone". And I haven't been able to put the book down since 11:30pm. Darn! Am I not going to get any sleep tonight?! Hahaha. Aiyo. I am going to have panda eyes! Hahaha.

Library

This is my first visit to the National Library at its present site. I am just in awe of what I saw. It is so... I just can't describe it but it is good. It evoked memories and emotions long forgotten. It is a good feeling. Thanks again, SA. With Juliane quietly in tow, I walked through the shelves and browsed at the books. Eventually, I stopped at the Comics and Graphic Novels shelves. Hahaha. Yup, I saw the titles you recommended: Ultimate X-men, New X-men, ... and many more, including Buffy. My fingers automatically started to rearrange the Buffy comics in order. A habit learnt. You will know why later.

Walking through the shelves, looking at people reading books, being in NL again, sure brought back many fond memories and emotions. You are right, SA. It is like the rediscovery of some lost continent. I remembered going to the old NL too (at Stamford and the red bricks) when I started primary school. Both my brother and I were regular patrons of NL then. Eventually, I stopped going to NL when I was in secondary school. I only went to NL again at JC for a GP research project. Sadly, that was the last time I stepped into NL until now. Better late than never. Hahaha.

However, all the time I was absent from NL, I was still surrounded by books. I had joined the Library ECA, in primary and secondary school. I loved being the first person in the library and the last person to leave the library (still do actually). I could proudly say I finished reading all the books in the primary school library as well as in the school secondary library. I was spending so much time in the library, that eventually, I was voted the head librarian in secondary school. Hahaha. So now, you know why I would automatically rearrange books when I see them out of place. A "bad" habit, in deed. Yes, sometimes I tend to do that too even at bookshops. Hahaha.

Currently, going to the NIE/ NUS libraries are for work and study - looking for books and journal articles. I still love the excitement of looking for a particle book or journal volume among the rows and rows of shelves. But because it is for work/ study, it does take the fun out of reading and of going to the library, if you know what I mean. However, with the rediscovery of NL, I shall go there in future for my leisure read.

Oh yes, I am now a registered library member and I have got my library membership card too. Hahaha. I also managed to dig up my old NL library cards. I know I am such a sentimental fool. Hahaha.

PS. See you around at the NL, SA. =)

Out with Juliane

Today, my husband and I had to run separate errands so we each took charge of one daughter.

I brought my younger daughter along to collect my comics at Brash Basah Complex. Before we did that, I took her to the National Library, just next to BBC for a quick visit. The visit turned out to be an hour long. Juliane was really thrilled to see so many books. She was particularly interested with the comics, naming me all the characters she knew - Spiderman, Superman, Batman, ... Ok, looks like another "me" in the making who likes comics: like mother, like daughter. Hahaha. I am also proud of her that she knew to keep quiet in the library even though it is her first visit ever to a library. My thoughts of NL later in another post, so bear with me ;).



We went to BBC for the comics and then walked over to Raffles City for lunch. As it was only 11:30am, there was no crowd. I ordered my Boston Clam Chowder: Grande (larger portion) from The Soup Spoon. I love creamy soup and especially, clam chowder. Hahaha. Juliane was only interested in the roll that came with the soup but she did dip her bread into my soup occasionally.



I brought Juliane to Starbucks because she wanted to eat more bread and I wanted a hot drink. I ended up buying her a Peachy Danish and Lime Juice and for myself, a Caramel Hot Chocolate. I had wanted tea but couldn't resist the hot chocolate. Hahaha.

We left for home around 1pm. Time for Juliane to take her nap and for me to get back to my book. =)

Thank you

Thanks, SA, for all your trouble and effort in looking up the books, both those that I am intending to look at and those that I might be interested in. I really appreciate it! Guess what, I also did some "homework" last night but most books are out on loan. Sigh. That means I don't have to go?! :D Hahaha. Only joking. All the more I should go after your effort, although it looks like nice weather to curl up in bed with a good book, like "The Swarm". Still reading it, only at pg 387 out of 881 pages. A bit slow going for this book. Usually, I can finish a Rollins/ Reilly within 12 to 24 hours, which means I read through the night.

Yar, NLB should pay you a commission for trying to promote library going. Hahaha.

Ok, I am off to the library. It opens at 10am, doesn't it? I like libraries when they are free of people, like early in the morning. Just books and me. Will talk about my experience of the new NL and my past library experiences in my next post.

Plans for Tomorrow

Ok, I am my usual self again. Hmm... am making plans for tomorrow. Taking a break from my writing. So what shall I do tomorrow?

I have to collect my comics from Brash Basah Complex. Maybe can browse a bit at Popular. Then I can pop over to Raffles City basement for lunch at The Soup Spoon. Thinking of the Boston Clam Chowder. Yummy. Getting hungry. Hahaha. And maybe can also read my book while having a cup of tea at ... somewhere(?).

Hmm... hang on, what's that building next to BBC? Yar, that tall 16-storey modern-looking one. Isn't it the National Library?! Hahaha. Pondering, pondering, pondering... Shall I give it a visit?

What do you all think? :) Hahaha.