I was looking on the web for a new pair of shades after my old lovelies were nicked in a Ted Baker changing room (sunglasses thieves are the worst) and I came across this new gadget online whereby u can actually upload your photo and TRY ON glasses virtually! How cool is that! It's called Framefinder, a new trade marked little thing, I didn't really use it to find specs but I did have a bit of fun -

I tried on a pair of Salvatore Ferragamo's; as you can see the technology has not quite perfected the relative size of the frame against the face: -



Check it out. How sexy is that.

If that's how the frame would really look on my face, I'd scare a fair few children away. Naturally, I was not drawn into making a purchase.

I thought the tool was lousy, so I decided to test it again, and see if perhaps it was just the picture or just my pudgy face. Happy to oblige was Hedgie, my mascot and MSN messenger persona, donning a pair of stylish Donna Karans: -



Voila! Parfait! It's a perfect fit. It seems the tool is rather dodgy when it comes to human faces, but if you're spikey, 5 inches long and have an appetite for worms, online specs purchases just might be worth a shot (provided you own a Paypal account).

So if you're bored like me, bored enough to eat your toes, try on some frames for yourself here.

This is worrying. I'm actually starting to understand the law of trusts.

Excuse me while I check my pulse, to make sure I haven't died and evolved into a law-crazed mummy.

I'm having one of my most emotional and sensitive days ever. I'd put it down to hormones - I'm a walking PMS radiator (well not quite, I exaggerate) but I think lately my connection with the environment has been strangely surreal. Maybe it's that time of the year where exams are on and when the lights go out there's just too much to think about, but I think it's more than that.

I think it's a spatial issue, the same old feeling of lack of a physical grounding. Now that I'm leaving Bristol for good in roughly 5 weeks, I find myself in a very strange state of mind - I am simultaneously sad to leave, homesick and missing my family, longing for my holiday in the US, raring to hit the unbeaten track next year in China and craving to finally settle in Hong Kong. And everything is hitting me in the face, since I seem to making plans for everything all at once. I'm so overwhelmed, I don't know where to start. I don't want to call the shipping company and pack my boxes. But at the same time, sadly, I'd love to be anywhere but here.

Maybe in a sick way, I wish the world was smaller - that all my worlds could one day merge instead of pulling me in different directions.

And it scares me, because despite my aggressively independent nature, I'm starting to realise that in the lack of any physical grounding, I am truly capable of investing myself in a person.

But they say home is where the heart is, so give me a hand with my suitcase, take me with you and I promise to make every second worth your while.

Sample Zero 7's new album here!

Sorry folks, not much going on at the moment, life is a barrel of work gym and shite weather, which I shall not go into because writing about the weather must be one of the top ten sins of blogging.

So, Adios, hope your days are livelier than mine!

Lynette -- [adjective]: Extremely flatulent 'How" will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

From MedicineNet.com: Definition of Flatulent
Flatulent: Pertaining to flatulence, the generation of excess gas in the intestinal tract. From the Latin flastus, meaning blowing, as a breeze or snort.

Hey, guys, thanks - no really. That's sweet.

(morons)

I know I've just been told not to stress, but quite frankly, it's too late! My nerves have FINALLY set in, while for the past few weeks I've somehow convinced myself that I could succeed in my exams by twiddling my thumbs for 4 weeks. No more, I say, no more.

I think it was a combination of things; the caffeine in the morning, going into the library and having to actively search for an empty seat, the guy studying next to me all day who looked like he had overdosed on Redbull, and the realisation that a subject I'd thought was easy all year, really...was not.

All in all, I feel like someone has slapped me with a great big trout, like so:



hahahahahaha I love that gif. I have a gift for finding random things on the web (or maybe my procrastination abilities have something to do with it).

So yes, I repeat, if u hadn't already caught the point: the shit has hit the fan.

My latest certified Musician to Stalk, Joan Wasser, has released her first single off her debut album Real Life. Click here to read the review and watch the video! Highly recommended if you dig the likes of Nina Simone and Fiona Apple (my always certified Musician to Stalk).

If you're more into new breeds of Franz-Ferdinand type indie rock, try the Sunshine Underground; not quite a personal fave, but they're quite catchy and I have a soft spot for the up-and-coming.

I'd love to do a full web search and dig up more music, but I don't think I'm quite talented enough to give up the law degree and become a blogging music-reviewer. So, back to the books.

It was weird to be out drinking last night again, after weeks of being (almost) tee-total. Everyone put their books aside to celebrate Richard Fu's bday; unfortunately the poor dude didn't make it past 1 o'clock and had to be carted home. Happy birthday anyway dahling! We had a great time drinking the nastiest drinks ever, playing a game called 'I never' (hey it rhymes), which is a game where someone says e.g. 'I've never puked up on the dance floor', and everyone who HAS drinks. There were some surprising and interesting statistics, revealing the dark horses and the general fact that my friends were much kinkier than I thought.

Today I'm off again to Paris! Despite revision, I have to say I am having a FANTASTIC time - good weather, good friends, possible *good news* (am I driving u guys nuts yet?) and now I'm spoiling myself with another trip to see my luva luva. Eurostar should give me a gold card soon, 'cos they're sucking all my money away.

I'll update when I get there; in the meantime, enjoy the sun, tart yourselves up, drink lotsa water and always always take your vitamins.

Now smoking: new grape-flavoured sheesha on my gorgeous plum-coloured hookah pipe

Now listening to: Gotan Project - Lunatico

Now drinking: Yunnan Green Tea from Rue Mouffetard

Now feeling: mildly heady, astoundingly chilled and warmed by some good news.

Chinese people start eating dogs at a very young age.

With Singapore elections just ended, and all of Singapore's blogging youth having their say on various issues ranging from party bullying to podcasting and blogging restrictions, it does seem rather unlike me not to have put in my two cents worth. Perhaps, as I lose more and more the ability to relate to my hometown, I have grown increasingly more apathetic of the situation there. Or perhaps, not being back home in the midst of things, I don't feel I quite have the first-hand information I need to make informed commentary. Add to that the point that I feel many of the bloggers out there have made very clear and well set-out opinions (amongst other more brainless ones).

However, I did notice one thing recently, purely by accident. You see in Singapore there's kind of a battle of generations going on (it happens everywhere, but especially markedly back home) whereby the youth are accused of being radical and much too Western and the old are accused of being backward, ignorant of civil liberties and so on. I definitely have to agree with the latter, but while reading the local Chinese newspapers lately I have come to realise why people have such mindsets. You see, in Singapore the older and conservative party-voting sector of the population also tends to be chinese-educated. And for the last 2 weeks, EVERY DAY, the PAP (the ruling party) has featured on the front page (i.e. scroll down for less important world news).

Today, for example, I visit the lianhe zaobao website, and I get a very nice 'overview' of the general elections thus far, starting with a nice happy picture of the PM on the left, a preview of the latest elections article, and all the headline stories on the elections from the past week:

PRIME MINISTER LEE HSIEN LOONG: CITIZENS GAVE HIM A CLEAR MANDATE
PAP WINS THE SEMBAWANG CONSTITUTENCY
PAP WINS THE ALJUNIED CONSTITUTENCY
PAP WINS THE PASIR RIS CONSTITUENCY
PAP WINS THE XXXX CONSTITUENCY
PAP WINS THE XXXX CONSTITUENCY
CHIAM SEE TONG WINS POTONG PASIR CONSTITUENCY

And this is today's story on the general elections (very roughly translated):

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong: Citizens Gave Him a Clear Mandate

"In today's press conference held before dawn, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong expressed that the results of this general election showed clearly that the electorate had made a sensible choice, giving him a clear mandate, and he thanks the voters who had supported him and his party. He is very satisfied with these results.
...
As regards not being able to win the Hougang and Potong Pasir constituencies, the PM is disappointed, but he respects the voters' decision...he believes the PAP will eventually win back these two seats.
...
The PM said, it was not that the people who voted for the opposition objected to the ruling party's policies, for some of them it was just that they wanted to have opposition in government.
...
He also believed that Singaporean youth especially supported them at this election, evidenced from the fact that where the numbers of youths in a constituency was high, the PAP did particularly well."

Of course, these headlines are deserved in the sense that everything is technically, well, ALL TRUE. However, a few things strike me here:

1) There are quite clearly a few things missing from the Chinese news. What happened to the controversy over the rules on expression about the elections, whatever happened to the recent forum with Lee Kuan Yew and young journalists, whatever happened to the James Gomez issue and alleged bullying by PAP?

2) Whatever you can say about differences in writing style, I find it disturbing that press conferences seem to be interpreted more like Oscar award speeches with no two-way dialogue; perhaps these journalists are taking the literal Chinese translation of 'reporter' too seriously - zi zhe, that is, 'memory person'.

3) Um, ok, I know the PAP won the elections, but does anyone else out there care for what they're actually going to DO in power, aside from trying to win back those two little lost constituencies?

4) Would ANY journalist NOT question a statement like 'it's not that nobody minds the ruling party, it's just that they would like to see some opposition in Parliament'??

So, in response to Nick's frustration with a certain conservative middle-aged woman Tan Bee Lan, who 'felt sorry for the Minister Mentor' that he was confronted with 'young people with no concern for the past', I would venture a guess why people like her harbour such backward views.

The sad thing is, I don't think it's even a question of free speech; take away any restrictions on media liberties, and you'd probably get the same thing. I don't know what the hiring policy is at the lianhe zaobao, but I have an image of an office full of brainwashed fossils. Call it a generation gap, call it narrow-mindedness, or call it pure contentment with the luxury of being able to sit on one's arse without a shred of political opinion, in a sterilised, organised, immobilised society.

The sun came out today, and everyone got off their asses and into the streets and library to show off little summer outfits that hadn't seen the light of day for a year. I, for one, was pleased as peaches, but then we started talking about our trip to LA and I had a heartfreeze making this mental equation:

Los Angeles + sun + beaches = hot beach bodies + tiny bikinis + I need to lose these love handles FAST.

My newly revived diet is off to a bad start, and my gym pants have remained clean, pressed and elasticised for...far too long. With exams coming, no way am I going to have the motivation to begin gymming again. I need to eat less, and quitting things like the 'decadent chocolate cake' I had at Starbucks today sounds like a good start.

I'm determined to buy a snazzy new swimsuit first thing on reaching the US, and seeing as one-piece swimsuits are newly in fashion, I am eyeing this baby by JLo:



It's highly ambitious, but yes, YES, this is working, I can do it, I can live on Salmon and peas and plums for the 2 months, and maybe make the occasional gym trip when one of my housemates coerces me. Or not. Hmm...maybe i'll just dance about my room with my iPod. That'll do. Then I'll get my personal fake tan expert, Laura Gannon, to do me a makeover, and perhaps I'll get that little bit closer to Los Angeles beach beautiful, and be able to bare all in dreamy Santa Monica.

Back from yet another short trip to London; all this moving around really is exhausting. Pack - bus/walk - train/bus - Ixxy's salt beef bagel from Victoria or Yo! Sushi from Paddington - noisy tube+rude people - £5.90 day travelcards - mindthegapmindthegap... - adverts on the walls: BillyElliottheBestBusicalEver!!...call India cheap direct 5p/min...don't be a dinosaur use new MICROSOFToffice... - escalators up down up down - steps and people, people and steps, suitcases and trolley bags - back in train station with Krispy Kreme doughnut and a £1 Financial Times - bus - clifton village - home.

Ah, such is the London life, so vibrant, so lovable and always different, yet strangely always the same.

So I'm back to my work and I'm poring through this trusts textbook and the only interest I have in it is that it's probably heavy enough to knock me out if I cracked it over my head. I didn't get to try it today because I was studying in public in my favourite cafe coffee #1 but goddamm if this carries on who knows what could happen.

I know I'm being over dramatic (I spent all day whining to Jackie, I even called Vik for release) but I'm allowed, I only just started revision! I have nearly a month left to exams and there's plenty of time, and to be fair I like IP and human rights, but when I read trusts I feel like I've been drugged on morphine, spun around in a circle 10 times and asked to thread a needle. Such are my exaggeration skills, but there you are.

When my boy left again on Monday after a painfully short weekend, I was a bawling whiny wreck. *fists flailing* I WANT TO BE BABIED AGAIN. Generous cash offer for anyone who will throw a trash bag over my boyfriend, tie him up with jump rope, put him in the back of a 4x4 and have him driven back to Bristol (extra points if you stop by Somerfield for some chocolates and Veuve Cliquot). Merci.

So poker night didn't go my way, but unsurprisingly since my entire weekend seemed to be punctuated with gambles that I lost. On Friday, I had an open-dated return to go to London and was planning to use it decided to use it without booking a time: STUPID move since it was Friday and a bank holiday weekend at that. I was in a rush to the bus station, and took a cab which got me stuck in a jam and cost me over 6 pounds, only to find that I'd missed my bus. After that I took another 6 pound cab to the TRAIN station to catch a train, the ticket cost me nearly 50 quid!

On Saturday, while shopping at Ted Baker, I entered the changing room and left my favourite Missoni shades there, forgot them and nipped out for 2 minutes: enough for someone to swipe them. Some bitch out there is wearing my lovely shades!!

So back in Bristol, on Sat night, my bad luck continued and I lost more money in the knock-out tournament.

Grand total loss for the weekend = don't even ask.