My Birthday Treat

I gave myself an early birthday treat on Saturday - I went to watch 'Brideshead Revisited' in Gold Class :) The Vivocity outlet of Golden Village had a special English Tea menu for the sneak preview of the movie so they served finger sandwiches, scones and apple crumble with ice cream and a choice of coffee or tea. It was great fun! I would never have thought of it if Maya hadn't taken me there before. But having gone once, I was instantly attracted when I saw the ad for the sneak preview.

So there I was, reclined in a plush chair with a nice blanket to keep me warm and food and coffee served inside the theatre. Bliss!! If I had not been so full I might have been tempted to try other food from the menu - you can even have a full meal in there. Of course you pay a price for it. My English Tea + Movie experience cost me $48.00. Yup, extravagant of me - 5 people could have watched a movie for that price. I guess it was just one of those impulsive decisions. But I had fun. It felt so decadent - of course it came no where close to the decadence of Sebastian and Charles in the movie - but I really enjoyed snuggling up under the blanket and drinking my coffee :)

And I was amazed that I had been so naive at 20. When I read the novel, I had NO idea that the relationship between Charles and Sebastian had all those gay undertones!!! It all makes sense to me now. Finally I understand why there was all that anguish and drama. I can't believe I was that naive, honestly :) Boy was it a re-visiting for me!! Overall, though I think I loved the setting of the movie more than I was engaged by the characters. Emma Thompson was very good - a regal presence, but the other characters did not impress. The house, on the other hand, sigh.... oh to live in a house like that. I don't blame Charles for being willing to sell himself to be a part of that lifestyle :)

But for the Grace of God

The current financial crisis seems worse than the 1997 crisis and I can't help feeling somewhat uneasy even though I know that being in the civil service, my rice bowl is not in imminent danger. In fact I have been feeling immensely thankful that my financial planner made me take out my funds from a unit trust that I had been talked into investing in and putting the funds into an insurance policy that would mature next year. I was especially moved by the picture in The Straits Times that showed an old woman with tears streaming down her face because her life savings had been wiped out overnight. And I thought to myself, that but for the grace of God that would have been me.

If you have never been pressured by the bank salespeople you would not really appreciate the position these people are in. I remember how the bank salesperson took me aside from the queue I was in and talked me into buying the unit trust. I think the biggest sign of how I had been blindsided was when all I could tell my financial planner about the unit trust I had bought was that I got a free handphone from the deal :) He kept watch on the unit trust and told me when to pull out. I lost about 2k but looking back now it was a small price to pay to learn that lesson. I think many of these sales people were really unethical and I'm really glad that MAS has called on banks to "do the right thing". It is a great maxim - that perhaps more people and policy makers should take to heart.

Movies

D and I went to watch 'Mamma Mia' this evening. It was great fun! The ABBA tunes are very catchy - well, the lyrics are of course totally cheesy - and I can't help humming. If Jand R had been with me they would have been totally embarrassed because I had a mini 'quiet' karaoke session at the movie :) It so helped that the lyrics were flashed across the screen... hahahaha. Well, I guess on the moral barometer it doesn't rank high - 3 men and she doesn't know which one fathered her child (????) - but it was a sunny movie, the sort that made me want to dance. And boy, does Meryl Streep look good! I can't believe she is 62!!! There were obviously no creaking bones on THAT body! Coming as I am from a week of backache, the sheer energy she showed in the dance sequences and the jump on the bed - wow!

Well, it was definitely waaaaay better than the movie we watched last weekend - yes, I know, but hey, it's empty nest, remember? - where was I? Yes the movie we watched last week - 'My Magic'. Boy, if there was ever an overrated movie this must be it. I am aware I am no arty film critic but I am a film-goer and I've watched my fair share of movies and this one was CRAP!!! I have NO idea why the critics are falling over themselves praising this movie. And I find it totally incomprehensible that it should have been raved about at Cannes! It was a sentimental, melodramatic, pointless meandering story with banal dialogue. All my friends know how much I dislike Tamil movies, but I can honestly say that there are tons of Tamil movies that are better than My Magic. In fact, I think the director of the Tamil movie they showed on tv last night - Bheema - should send his film to Cannes with just taking out the song & dance scenes, because the storyline was tighter, the acting was better and the editing so much more consistent. My apologies for ranting, but I really can't stand it when people rave about a book or movie or play and then it becomes a case of the emperor's new clothes because people don't say it is lousy for fear of being thought, what? plebian? That's me, I guess :)