The Ego Episodes

Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2003

Whoah or I Survived The Marathon, Baby!

November 7, 2003, Friday -- I woke up expecting a totally unproductive day. I wouldn't be able to think properly. Work? What work? If it were possible to scope what's inside my mind, you'd see a dark green background with 0s and 1s and other neon-greenish characters streaming vertically. Endlessly. I get all geeky when it comes to this kind of stuff.

I've already laid out a foolproof plan (or so I would like to think) to survive The Marathon. First, conserve energy. Do not talk too much. Wait, strike that. Talking is like breathing to me. It's inevitable. Second, ensure self is caffeinated the whole day. This is what I love about the Marathon. It's the perfect excuse for drinking lots of coffee! Lunch -- I went out to get me some of those delicious Japanese satay (pork and chicken balls) and strolled around, stick in hand, nibbling away. Went inside the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf afterwards and ordered a regular cafe caramel. It was a tad too sweet and that's exactly how I like it. Yum!

Contrary to my expectations, I did get a substantial amount of work done in the afternoon. I guess I'm not as apathetic as I thought I was. The bell rang and I got off from work, barely able to contain my excitement. Remember, my cheeks? It's doing its "Joycie's excited! Yes! She is!" public announcement thingy. Crazy cheeks. Anyhow, I've decided not to go back home before the movie. While most people would prefer taking a nap before taking on three movies nonstop, I did no such thing. I can't do such thing. Way too excited to sleep, plus I thought this day should be spent AWAKE AT ALL TIMES. Or else my diary would go, "Before the movie, I went back to my room and took a nap for two hours. Nothing to write about there." instead of "I got off the train at Orchard and without a specific destination in mind, walked around until my gastronomic senses told me to try out a restaurant. Alone."

Dining at California Pizza Kitchen was both enlightening and stupid.

Lesson #1 NEVER eat there alone.
I didn't know -- that the servings they have cater to two (TWO) people, at least. Plus, the people in there: NOBODY ELSE IS ALONE. You can see mothers with their children, office mates chatting -- it's a family place, it's a GROUP place. What was I thinking? Gah. I didn't know better.

Lesson #2 ORDER PIZZA, ANY PIZZA
Just don't -- order pasta. You're in CPK! What were you doing ordering pasta? Pasta! Gah. I forgot I've given up on the pasta here in Singapore. I've tried several pasta dishes and not one was up to my standards -- either it wasn't creamy enough or the sauce was too watery (Use an extender/thickener/cornstarch! Seriously.) or there's just no flavor at all. Where have all the good pasta gone? It baffles me so. Even McDonald's back home serves decent spaghetti

Lesson #3 DO NOT FORGET YOUR CHANGE.
The bill's half of your weekly allowance and you're just going to walk out of there without getting your change?!? Wow, that is some amnesia I have. Honestly? I was anxious to get out of there because I WAS ALONE. And the pasta sucked (There. It's out. CPK Pasta sucked.) that I consumed less than half of it. Anyway, good thing my back up memory cells took over and reminded Mrs. Bourne that she forgot her change and must therefore go back (ack!) inside to wait for her change.

Lesson #4 It never hurts to treat yourself to a big gulp of iced cafe mocha. Cafe. Mocha. Live the life!

Lesson #5 REMEMBER. THE LESSONS.
Do not commit the same mistake twice. It's dumb.

After my so-called dinner, I walked as far away from that place as I could. As with any horrible experience, it stayed in my mind for about 0.02 seconds before I brushed it aside with my patented brushing-aside skillz. I passed by a Haagen-Daaz stall and if not for the cafe mocha in my system, I would've fallen for the temptation that is the Haagen-Daaz ice cream from heaven (right along with Andersen's).

I've always considered Orchard as one of the best places to take a walk. It's a busy street, and most of the time it's crowded, but it's breathtaking to see those tall buildings (malls) with people coming in and out, carrying shopping bags, and dressed in so many ways (most of the time, as a form of expression), it's like seeing an explosion of culture -- you see office types carrying brief cases, punk kids with their pink/green/orange hair, graffiti shirts that I just love, mothers with their babies in strollers, and just -- all kinds of people. It's like going to an exhibit of moving artworks. And the trees. Did I mention I love trees? It's a nice touch. I love Orchard.

7:30 pm -- I needed to kill two hours. So I went to Borders. It's been a long while since I last visited the place. Probably because everytime I go to Orchard, I get stuck at Isetan and Takashimaya (BIG shopping malls connected to the MRT station) combing through shoes, Mango, Topshop, U2, etc. that it leaves no time for me to visit Borders. I figured I could finish reading a book there. And I did. I did my own version of speed-reading and finished Anthony Bourdain's book, [insert title of book here] in 30 minutes. Yup, I forgot the title. Speed-read too much, I guess. Went past the title SO FAST I couldn't recall what it was. The story/plot, I got, but the rest was a blur. That's speed-reading for you. I browsed through some more books and magazines until I killed an hour. Left me with one more hour.

That one hour was spent strolling and looking for items to buy. Went to Watson's to buy Listerine Oral Care Strips because if I'm going to be hanging out in the cinema overnight, I have to have some form of oral hygiene. Hence, Listerine Oral Care Strips. Okay, enough pimping. I also bought a pack of Belgian chocolates, or more specifically, Praline-filled Chocolate Shells, breaking my tradition of surrounding myself with sweet popcorn and Coke during a movie. This is the Matrix Marathon! Down with tradition!

Knowing that I had to stay awake for the three movies, I did not want to risk it and thus went for a large cafe mocha (mmm) at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (better than Starbucks!). Lugging my styrofoam cup along, my leather jacket (because if there's ever an occasion that my leather jacket could be put to good use, it is in paying homage to leather-clad Neo and Trinity.), and my heavy bag (with Jussy's disc player and book), I took the train from Orchard to Dhoby Ghaut. Without any spillage whatsoever.

10:05 pm -- Checked out some stalls just outside Plaza Singapura. Ooh, earrings! 3 pairs for $10! I thought I could really use some new earrings right now -- which, of course, also works if 'earrings' is replaced with sneakers or bright-colored top or jeans. Almost gave in to temptation, but the thought of the amount of money spent on coffee so far, saved me. And I needed to pee.

10:20 pm or thereabouts -- I met E at the entrance. When I asked her if she has had her dinner, she said, "Nope. Ice cream?" Well, now. That is one girlfriend you want to have. So we went for ice cream at Swensen's. I got my usual Banana Split because I love bananas and (no, not splits) I could change the ice cream flavors from vanilla and chocolate to coffee and cookies 'n cream. Yum! While looking at the menu, I chanced upon a sundae that goes by the name of Coit Tower with a little drawing of a chef's hat that meant it's highly recommended. So now I ask, why is it called the Coit Tower? I'm leaving that to you to ponder.

11:15 pm -- Swensen's was closing so we needed to get out of there. And we needed to stop by at Starbucks to grab our essential supply of caffeine that, in theory, should be enough to keep us awake and perky (not that we needed extra help in this department, but, we're not leaving anything to chance) throughout The Marathon. At the last minute, I decided to change my tall cappuccino to a short cappuccino. Maybe two cups too late, but I was scared of overcaffeination.

11:25 pm -- Movie time! Was able to sneak in two cups of coffee, two burgers with drinks and Belgian chocolates inside the cinema. I love the cinema! And the crowd! The first two rows were occupied by kids (we think German) from an International School (we reckon) and they're noisy. They actually initiated the applause before the movie. And when Rage Against the Machine came on, someone from their group actually pumped his fist in the air and did a sort of a dance. "Shut up!" was uttered more than once. But not from us, no.

This entry's so long and there's more to go. Should I break this up and publish it in a Trilogy? Hee. Kidding. After reading this, you'll feel like you've been in a Marathon yourself -- the Reading Marathon.

After the first movie, E and I were wide-eyed.

E: You know what? I don't feel sleepy.

Joycie: I know! Me too! I am so awake.

E: I know! Wow! So this is how I got hooked into the Matrix.

Joycie: Yeah! The movie's so good and I am so awake.

Those exclamation points are for real. We really didn't need any help in the perky department. We spent the one-hour break talking about the movie and eating our burgers. But honestly, neither of us felt like eating. It's like we're on this 'high' that we did not need any food to sustain us. But we ate anyway. Two more movies to go!

If there's one roadblock in this Marathon, it's got to be the second movie. We've all seen Reloaded, right? And if the first time you almost slept through it, the second time should be where you'll really sleep through it. Right? Wrong. Reloaded was a blast the second time around. I don't know how to explain it, really, but I guess watching it right after the first movie helped -- we get to see the connection more clearly. Plus, the Neo-Oracle, Neo-Architect conversations? We've all read the transcripts, right? No? Oh. Just me then. Anyhow, it wasn't as confusing anymore. In fact, E and I were giggling like four-year-olds every time the Architect says, 'ergo', 'concurrently' and 'vis-à-vis'. It had to do with the spoof the MTV Movie Awards 2003 did for Reloaded and if you haven't seen it, well, now. You have got to. Did I say enough pimping?

November 8, 2003, Saturday

2:30 am -- In Reloaded: The Second Time Around, I noticed that the Albino twins are SO TALL. Way too tall for an average human. Plus, the Architect mentioned the word 'apropos', which, I now know, is pronounced with a silent 's'. That's all. Not that much. Ooh, and I SLEPT WITH MY EYES OPEN! Remember that scene with the Merovingian and his wife? I slept through that. WITH MY EYES OPEN! I saw what's happening but other than that, blank. I didn't hear nor remember anything for 5 minutes. And when I snapped out of it, I felt so refreshed, there's really no other way to explain it but that I slept. I slept, for 5 minutes, with my eyes open. Now that's an achievement. Think of how useful this skill is during lectures and sermons.

After the second movie, I stopped caring about my hair. E and I went back to our usual spot at the already-closed Kopitiam. I used another chair and placed my legs on top of it. Ah. That's what's good about late-night-to-early-morning movie marathons. Freedom. And free breakfast. As mentioned earlier, we didn't feel like eating. So we just got coffee, which was not bad at all, and skipped the sandwiches. Few days later, I was to regret this decision of shunning the sandwiches. My IA friends told me the sandwiches were nice. Argh. Okay, a lesson to be learned: THOU SHALL NOT IGNORE FREE FOOD. Also, coffee makes you want to pee every 5 minutes.

5:30 am -- Yes! Revolutions! The movie was supposed to start at 6 am but seeing that everyone would benefit from showing the movie half an hour earlier, the management deployed its staff all over the mall (poor staff) to find us moviegoers so that they could announce that the movie's starting at 5:30 am instead of 6 am. Wow. I knew this was coming. I have Oracle powers! Hee. Too much coffee.

I don't want to talk about the movie in detail but when it ended, I didn't like it right away. There are scenes that rocked, like the war scene, you know, where the GIRLS KICKED ASS. But while in the train going home, I thought about the movie, and its philosophical aspects and also tried to understand some of the confusing things in the movie and bam! It hit me. The movie's GOOood. I liked it. Not just for closure's sake. The ending? I didn't see it coming. I was satisfied. The whole experience was such a blast I want to do it again. But I couldn't think of any other movie that deserves a marathon. Lord of the Rings? Seriously? NO. It's just wrong for so many reasons that: NO. The Matrix Trilogy, however, is worth staying awake for because you won't even have to try. It made me want to thank God that I'm here in Singapore and doing my IA in the first semester that I didn't have to study for exams. Right now? Still high.

But I would like to mention that I laughed when Trinity died. Aaaah! Don't hit me! Really. I was like, what's taking this lady so long to die?!? Just. Die.

Ditto, this entry. Whew!

{ joycie at 3:54 p.m.}