Vampires Amongst Us?

Do you believe in vampires? Yes ladies, wouldn't you like to think there are a bunch of Edward Cullens walking around in this planet and the guys, don't think I don't know about your fantasies of sexy vampires with long raven hair and cleavage spilling out of their corsets!





Whatever you vision of how vampires may be, have you ever pondered about their existence? Are there vampires roaming around in midst of us human beings?

I always surf and read in bed before I sleep. Old habit. I read about anything and everything. Last night I read about an interview with a so called real life vampire. What brought about this whole vampire phenomenon? Well... you won't believe it but it was actually Kim Kardashian. (I can imagine lotsa of you going, "Huh??")

I was watching Kim Kardashian on the Jay Leno show yesterday on TV. I told Em that Kardashian told the whole world she's a size 2 (err..yea, then I must be a Size -10). Em said she probably just said it for publicity stunt, after all there's no such thing as bad publicity. Em further commented that there was a Turkish singer, Mustafa Topaloglu, who claimed he was an alien. I laughed my head off at such ridiculousness but curiosity got the better of me thus I started googling this Mustafa guy. Unfortunately almost all of the sites about it are in Turkish. Thus I started wondering about the existence of vampires.

I recalled watching a Conan O'Brien's talkshow before where he invited a young man who claimed he was a real life vampire. It was such a dramatic start as couple of men carried what looked like a heavy coffin, up the stage. I was in stitches when the 'vampire' had to unglamourously nudge and push the coffin open before he made his way up the stage! He was even wearing a pair of fake fangs! hahahaha... Needless to say Conan was kinda dissing and poking fun at him throughout which I must admit, I couldn't fault him since it was so obvious that this guy was DELUSIONAL and moronic.

Anyways all that got me googling about vampires last night. I found a site where the writer interviewed a so called real life vampire who was born in 1712 Charleston S.C. The writer said he has never met the vampire before (interview was done via email and telephone) and it was up to the readers' discretion whether to believe or not.

I must admit the interview seemed pretty convincing. Questions poured in by readers and the vampire agreed to answer them as well. I was surprised that lots of readers had glitters in their eyes, they seemed to be so enchanted by this vampire (a he by the way). Many published their emails (one even stupidly gave his/her phone number) on the public site asking the vampire to contact them and extending friendships to the vampire. Couple of them asked the vampire ways and means on how to be one as well. It all sounded so ridiculous to me, the readers more than the vampire I must say as they seemed to be worshiping the ground of the vampire! Weird.


Anyways here are some of the interesting 'facts' that I've learnt from the site:

1) Vampires are not created from birth. They started off as humans and are 'made' into vampires by other vampires. What exactly does 'made' entails, I have no idea and wasn't answered by the vampire.

2) They CAN go out during the day, even under the sunlight. Only the newly made vampires tend to be a little sensitive of the sunlight but generally, no sunlight can perish them like what most movies seem to portray.

3) They MUST feed on blood from a BREATHING human not some blood bank nor blood off animals.

4) The puncture marks made when they drink the blood out of humans will quickly be sealed by their saliva.

5) Most vampires aren't evil. They kill for survival.

6) They can hear 100 times better than humans and can read humans' thoughts. They also just have to glance at a house to know whether anyone is inside and what the person is doing. Basically they have heightened senses.

7) Some of them have human lovers who are aware of their identities.

8) Once they are 'made' into vampires, their looks will be preserved. They will retain that physical appearance for hundreds of years. Even if they go for a haircut, it will grow briskly to the length they had when they were 'made'.

9) They can be killed by having their heads chopped off or their hearts taken out.

10) They don't readily 'make' other humans into vampires.

11) Most vampires are found in USA with a lower number in Europe.

12) One vampire who had previously killed another fellow vampire is currently believed to be residing in.................. Turkey!!!! *shudders*

13) Holy water and garlic do NOT work on them so sprinkle all you want and get all smelly-breathed.





Ok that's all I can remember offhand. This morning, I woke up and found myself typing away 15 questions to ask the err... vampire on that same site. My questions have yet to be published (needs to be approved by moderator) but I'll update here if they've been published and answered by the err...vampire.

Here are my questions:

1) Do vampires have sense of humour and amusement? Having lived hundreds of years, I can imagine you must have heard the oldest joke in the book and who knows, can actually guess the coming punchline of a story.

2) What about I.Ds? Do you guys carry i.ds or any form of identification documents? If you're really living your lives like an average human being, you must have been asked for your i.ds at some point of time. What about passports? How do you get them?

3) You talked about killing people before. What happened when the bodies were discovered? What was it classfied under, did it baffle the cops?

4) Have you ever killed someone to feed yourself and stumbled upon a newspaper report about his/her death the next morning? Was there guilt in you or something you feel had to happen for survival?

5) If a teenager with active acne were made into a vampire, does it mean he/she will look like that his/her entire life - acne at the same spots for hundreds and hundreds of years? (Hey I couldn't resist asking!!;p)

6) Do you like how the media portrays vampires as sex symbols? Do you find it amusing or offensive and ignorant?

7) Does life get boring having lived it all?

8) What is the best invention ever in your whole entire life?

9) White men can't dance (or so they said). Can vampires dance?

10) As a vampire, do you have any phobia? (aside from life after death) Do you have phobia like us humans do - of cockroaches, heights, spiders etc?

11) Do you know of any celebrity vampires?

12) HOW do a vampire make another vampire? What process does it entail?

13) You claimed vampires can hear the thoughts of human beings. Supposedly if you take public transportation or so and just hearing thoughts of random people, a) what usually goes in their heads? b) What was the most touching thing you've heard?

14) If vampires keep on multiplying and humans are sacrificed to feed them, what will happen to the world? Won't it be exhausted of its inhabitants?

15) What are all the things that vampires and humans have in common?



As you can see, either I have too much time on my sleeve, too curious a human being or that I simply need a freaking hobby.

I am open to the possibility of the existence of vampires, however I'm not quite 'sold' now. The world is certainly more exciting if they really do exist but a huge chunk of me is cynical as well.

What do YOU think?




xo;
V

Smoking WEED

I got an email from my gf (no she's not some teen, she's actually substantially older than me) today for an invitation to a weed session. Yea sounds like some casual dinner date or a book club invite. lol.. She wanted bunch of us to get around at her place next week since her housemate won't be around and well, be 'happy'!

One thing I'm grateful for being me is I am NOT a follower and I do have my own ideas and opinions. I might not be as eloquent as some in expressing them but basically I'm comfortable with my own shadow and I don't succumb to peer pressure. I'm comfortable being on my own and I don't need to be surrounded by a bunch of people to feel confident and 'cool' . In fact, I'm ok with being UNCOOL. lol...

I simply told her nope, that's not my thing and I have strict principles on certain things and no to soft/hard drugs (as harmless or 'funny' as some people like to paint them) is one of them.

I tried to find out which countries legalize weeds but couldn't find any. Seems like in many parts of the world, weeds or marijuana are still illegal but of coz the tolerance towards it differs from countries to countries or areas to areas.

I don't get it, if you wanna be happy, go drink yourself silly and laugh - no one's stopping you. I always think drug users are silly and I'm still holding on to my sentiments.

Now how about that drinking session?

THAT N-word.

I had a disturbing post on my FaceBook days ago. It started off with just a simple, innocent question about HERSHEY'S.



Frankly speaking I do think the poster is out of order especially when I have my Turkish and Black friends under my contact list. It seemed maybe years of being in Turkey had indeed took a toll on him. You could just detect his bitterness and resentment behind his snide and insensitive comment.

Firstly to address the issue about Turkish - like ALL THE OTHER NATIONALITIES, there are good people as well as bad eggs amongst them. I do think Turkey wants to be under EU (European Union) and one of the possible major reason why it's still not is because of the fact that it's a Muslim country. I don't like politics, never have been so I try to keep this simple and short. I don't know why the unneccessary dissing of the Turks. I don't know why the resentment against Turks (funny, then why are you here?) or rather the well-to-do ones. The remark was simply unkind and unclassy. He was really rubbing it into their faces.

The MAIN factor why I was disturbed was his apparent ease of using the word 'nigger.' For your info, this guy (whose nationality I will not reveal) is not my buddy, nor does he belong to my circle of friends. It's just that the foreign community likes to stay close and tight to one another in Istanbul. We are all connected to one another somehow (no kidding!). We are from the same expat group and he added me on FB. He's a documentary film-maker whose films had been broadcasted on one of the major international channels. For such a supposedly intelligent and worldly man, it came as a surprise.

According to Wikipedia: Nigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people (generally people of Sub-Saharan African descent), and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur.

'Nigger' by Randall Kennedy is a provocative read that studied the history of the word 'nigger'. It carried a broader and wider perspective on the defination of the the word, which is mostly associated with being a racial slur. It talked about how the usage of the word varies from person to person and some might not associate it with negativity nor find it offensive. It also touched on the limitations of freedom of speech and how as the world evolves, should certain taboo words slowly be accepted?

I have yet to read the book and must admit, it does draw me in. I think it sounds a very thought-provoking and worthy read. After I'm done with my 'The Tipping Point' by Malcolm Gladwell, I'll hunt for the book, hopefully I can find here in Istanbul. Sometimes the selection of English novels/books here can be pretty limited.

Anyways, I honestly don't give a damn about evolvement of the world or whatsoever - if something was highly offensive, it still is. If 20 years ago, someone called me a 'Chink' or 'slanted eyes', I still would be as offended before as I will now, 20 years later. 20 years is a long time and does it make something so wrong acceptable? No. If in the 19th century, the word 'nigger' is freely and casually used in novels, certainly now smarter, wiser and more racially integrated society like ours (or so that I like to believe) should know better than to shoot it off our mouths. Who decides if the negative connotation should be shed off the word? Certain not the Blacks. What then gives anyone the right to justify its usage?

There are arguments though asking why is it acceptable for the Black community to call one another 'nigger' but NOT by someone of a different race. I did ask myself that. Could it be an inside joke, an unconventional form of endearment or acknowledgement of connection? God knows but hey, my take is, don't bother giving yourself any migraine over it. If ya not one of them, shut it and respect coz each and everyone of us has his/her own social responsibility in this world...

Happy Deepavali!!!

Today's Deepavali (as what's known in Singapore) or Diwali as according to my British Indian gf, R. We went to a lovely Indian restaurant with D and N. D's American and N's Russian. I love the fact that all of us, so different in culture and nationality got together to celebrate this day specially for R. We really wanted R to have a good Deepavali since she's away from her family. It's tough sometimes to be spending festive season without your loved ones.

It was an authentic Indian restaurant called Musafir in Taksim. A modest restaurant (though not so modest prices) with beautiful Indian setting, the place was simply charming. There was even a flat screen tv at the back playing Bollywood movies. I was surprised to see quite a number of Indians dining there as well, along with their Turkish or foreign friends. For the first time, I was in a place where there was a gathering of the Indian community in Istanbul. I thought that was lovely.

As we were heading to our table, a table of Indians said hi to R. R later told me one of the guys there got real chummy and flirty with her gf days ago. Well it wouldn't be a problem had it not been the fact that his FIANCEE was sitting next to him! Seriously I don't know why men have to be such asses sometimes! I did notice another girl at their table as she was not only exotically beautiful, she totally lit up the place with her gorgeous sari, looking breathtakingly ravishing.

We ordered Buttered Chicken, Lamb Briyani, Chicken Tikka Masaala, Buttered Rice, Garlic Naan and ermm... well I can't really remember the name, it was something like Appa-blahblah Pa-blahblah. It's like a gravy with spinach. The dishes were definitely NOT disappointing, it was heavenly and sits perfectly in your stomach. It felt so damn nice to be eating Asian cuisine again, certainly once in a blue moon kinda treat.

D and N went off after dinner cos D's married (boo!) and N has a really possessive Turkish bf (whom she really needs to dump) so R and I decided to roam around Taksim looking for a nice bar that played ENGLISH SONGS. Unfortunately though expectedly, we couldn't find any so we sat at some bar for a chat.

"Excuse me ladies...," I heard as the guy who was sitting at the table next to us approached our table. R and I just looked at each other with the 'Not again!' look. Seriously it's getting exhausting the way the local lads ALWAYS try to chat up foreign gals. "Would you... come sit... me, my friend table?" he continued.

"No, thank you," I said curtly. He smiled and apologised to us for disturbing. Fair enough, he wasn't pushy. R and I were chatting again though the night was wearing us out. It didn't help that the live band was belting out some depressing Turkish tunes.

After some time, out of the corner of my eyes, I could see the same lil bugger coming over again to our table.

"Err... where are you from?" he asked. If I could get a dollar everytime I had this question thrown at me, I'd be retired by now.

"Singapore and London," we answered, hardly any friendliness in our tone.

"Aaaah.." he said,"I asked cos you know.. I think you are.." and he started making a gesture with his hand like some dj spinning.

"And what is this???" I asked him, immitating his gesture exaggeratingly.

"Pardon, my English...not good. Like you know.. I look at you... like... I don't know how to say... different. Different nationality? That's why I come... and ask," he explained smiling. I nodded and continued talking to R, ignoring him. Again he apologised us for disturbing and retreated back to his seat.

As we got up to walk to the bar area to pay for our drinks, I heard his annoying voice again, "Ladies! Ladies!!! LAddddiesssss.." I paid no attention to it and just walked ahead.

While we were waiting for the barman to collect our money, guess whose face suddenly popped out of nowhere? Yes, HIM. Again. The one who apologised to us TWICE for DISTURBING us. I'm starting to think the apology didn't really mean a thing now!

He started talking again and this time, I didn't even wanna look at his direction, whatmore his face. I heard him asked if we wanna join him and his friend to another bar or club. R politely and firmly declined and he said sorry again for disturbing (!!!) and left. -.-

We were disturbed again by other local lads on our way back to the dolmus station and one of them pissed us off. He knew we were mad and he was like,"What, you girls angry? Why? Oh my gawd. You are sad girls." I really laughed my ass off. I don't know why but I thought it was funny.

Yes, we were the sad girls...

Resentment, Hatred and Guilt

So I'm flying off tomorrow...BACK to the charming city of Istanbul. Am I psyched? No. I'm having this dreadful mixture of resentment, hatred and guilt. My 2 months break in Singapore has indeed been a roller coaster and an emotional turmoil.

Being the product of an Asian parentage in a typically Asian upbringing, my parents weren't exactly pumping their fists in the air when I first told them,"I'm leaving Singapore." Hell, they wouldn't even let me leave home, what more my country! You can imagine it must have been a shock for them as they wondered in their unadventurous and traditional heads,"But why?!"

Needless to say, their jaws were almost on the ground when I first told them I'll be going to Turkey. Turkey? Turkey?! But but but... it's a third world country. No, it's NOT a third world country, it's a developing country. Maybe it sounded crazy to their ears and I can fully understand why. They reasoned that Singapore is a good, modern country and a cosmopolitan world city and why am I giving up the priviledge to live here for a country like.... Turkey. I had a good career, not a job, a career with sparkly promising future and what on earth will I be doing in Turkey? I told dad (to deaf ears of course!) that I wanted to experience life, not be too sheltered in Singapore. I wanted to be independent and adventurous. I wanted to meet people from all walks of life and be worldly. I told mom (to another pair of deaf ears) that Singapore is way too small, suffocating and rigid. Our generation only knows how to talk about money, shopping and branded goods - that is LIFE to them. One can't grow as an individual here coz we've never really experienced life and what the world has to offer.

I remembered taking a long bus ride to Marmaris and suddenly in midst of the journey, I covered my nose, almost gagging at the horrible, offensive stench that filled the bus. "Oh my God, what the hell?!" I exclaimed in my nasal voice and pinched nose. My British gf laughed her head off and said,"It's the fertilizers, babe. You've not lived, my child!" Don't I know.

Now that I'm leaving, I'm faced with endless emotional blackmail. Dad wasn't hesitant to tell me how I'm such an embarrassment to him and how he had to lie to relatives that my previous company sent me to Turkey just coz he didn't want them to know his daughter rebelled against him to leave and see the world. Fascinating. On top of that, I've been called selfish, disrespectful, rebellious and childish. Wow, keep it going dad. He was also 'kind' enough to tell me the only way I'll be satisfied is if I won't be there at my parents' deathbeds. It's amazing how all these cruel words and accusations were thrown at me simply coz I wanna do something in MY life. This makes me even more eager to leave, hurtful as it is.

Endless tears streamed down mom's face every now and then especially when time is nearing for me to leave. I just don't understand why they can't be happy for me. If being proud of me takes the life out of them, I just ask for them to be happy for me. No, that's too impossible a thing to ask. I wondered who the selfish one is since this is MY life that I'm planning for.

I don't understand why typical Asian parents just want their children buried under their armpits. It's not unnatural for children to still live with their parents when they're still single (even if they are in their 30s) in an Asian country. That's why I believe our western counterparts are generally a more confident, independent, worldly, adventurous and risk-taking bunch. I've known of western parents who shooed their children away once they reached 19-20 years of age. Is it because they love them any lesser? NO. It's because they believe in the importance of being independent. It's a way to let their children grow, face hardship and evolve as a more mature and wiser individual after that. My western friends in Istanbul are happily working there and living theirlives to the fullest with the complete blessings of their parents. How I wish I can ever be in their shoes instead of having to feel guilty and bad all the time just coz I wanna chase my happiness and chance in life.

I simply put on a stoic face everytime dad hurls insults at me coz of this issue. He thought I've grown to be so hard-hearted but if words could kill, I would already be sprawled on the floor dying. Still, I don't ever want him to see how affected I am to his words cos of my anger and resentment towards my traditional parents. If I were born a bird, I think they would rip my wings off.

I feel sad that I have to leave without any blessings everytime I fly back to Istanbul. I feel sad that I have to witness them heartbroken and crying in the airport. However I can't deny the surging amount of resentment in me for having born with such a traditional, closed minded upbringing...


(p/s- Dad had to rush off to hospital from work today coz he was in great pain due to his prostate gland. He was discharged and scheduled to see a specialist soon. God help me decide. I'm due to fly tomorrow morning)

Ditch the SINGLISH for gawd's sake!

Lotsa debates have been going on about Singlish. Retain it or ditch it. I'd say the latter. Some Singaporeans argued that ditching Singlish is like ditching our unique identity as a Singaporean. They suddenly turned patriotic and felt so strongly about the issue. Fiery arguments and point of views were made - very passionate indeed. My say? C'mon Singaporeans - WAKE UP! *roll eyes* (Yes, it has to end off with the rolling of the eyes for that added effect)

Those of you who wonder what on earth Singlish is, clearly you've not been to Singapore cos if you've been here, there's no way you'd have missed it!

Singlish is Singapore Colloquial English. One can say it's like a melting pot of various languages like Malay, Chinese, English, Hokkien, Tamil, Cantonese, Teochew etc. See, you can't accuse Singaporeans of the lack of creativity cos to be marrying all these languages into one is indeed something! That also means it can be horribly excrutiating especially to the foreign ears. The only people who can TRULY understand Singlish are, no surprise there, Singaporeans. Anti-social? Maybe. It can also be seen as something that bonds the locals. That extra spice of local flavour. In case ya not too familiar with how Singlish goes, here are some examples:


English: Have you received your results?
Singlish: Eh, you got your results already or not?

English: How can it be?
Singlish: Why like that leh?

English: I don't care!
Singlish: I don't care one!


Those are just basic Singlish, I haven't even include those that are a mixture of Chinese dialects, Malay and Tamil - it's really gonna ruin your head! lol... Yes it's definitely not sexy, I can't imagine a hunk of a guy saying to me," I love you la!"

I'm not TOTALLY dissing Singlish. It has its own charms but really, Singaporeans if you wanna aim high and big in life (life is not equivalent to just your tiny world in Singapore), ditch the Singlish and speak English.

I think some Singaporeans are just too loyal to Singlish coz they can't be bothered to upgrade themselves to learn and use proper English. They take comfort in numbers in their country but I'm afraid we can't take comfort in numbers anymore. Look at the number of foreigners in Singapore. 1 out of 3 people in Singapore is a foreigner. They are mostly from Phillipines, China, Malaysia and Indonesia. I truly apologise if what I'll say is offensive but it's my thought and I can't deny it. Most people from these countries don't speak decent English, some non at all. What on earth will happen to Singapore?? We are a first world country yet so robbed of English education and lo and behold, English is our official and business language. Surprise surprise. The number of western expats in Singapore is also on the rise, do you think they are able to understand our funky Singlish?! Geez, it's a no brainer.

I don't speak excellent Queen's English but I do speak proper English. I can still banter in Singlish with my friends who insist on conversing in it but otherwise I rather speak English anytime. Am I ashamed of being a Singaporean? Hell no. In fact I am proud to be one and I'm proud to show to my fellow foreign friends from Turkey, USA, Britain, Australia and wherever that hey we, Singaporeans can speak proper English and it's about time we stop being associated with the 'lahs' and 'lehs'.

Sleepy in Singapore

I know it's been a while since I last wrote a post here. I frankly have no idea how some bloggers can be sooo disciplined in updating their blogs. I guess some of them received sponsorships and dough from advertisements to make it worth their while but anyways though lotsa things happened to me, I just don't have it in me to be rattling about it here.

I'm in Singapore now and have been since the 20th of August. Hmm... am I happy? Well.. no. I don't know, Singapore still has that same old stranggled effects on me. I still feel so suffocated here, I still don't feel the feeling of liberation.

I still get bored by typical endless conversations of shopping, clubs, latest brands and all those shallow and rather pointless topics. Yea it kinda annoy me at times that conversations here carry no substance nor enlightenment. Now, I'm not saying I'm such a brilliant conversationalist that keeps up to date with all the current affairs. I'M NOT. That's why it appalls me that even someone like me can get bored with all the supposed 'hot' conversation topics that apparently seem quite normal and acceptable here. (I don't wanna talk about things that interest me only to be listened to cos I do think conversation is a TWO way thing.)

I do read news, I do keep abreast of current issues, not so much of the WHOLE WORLD- that's way too depressing/heavy for me at times but mostly of Singapore. It surprises me that some young adults don't and they're still living in their own contented and selfish world, pretty much sheltered in a snow globe. I actually am glad to stay away from Singapore for a while - honestly I don't think I can grow as an individual here. I don't see how being here allows my mind to explore possibilities and challenge impossibilities, to actually be street smart and worldly.

In Istanbul I had the opportunity to socialize with so many different people from different nationalities. Truth be told, I barely have my own personal Turkish friends (language problem mostly plus the local men always tend to be more friendly than the women and I'm NOT interested to befriend Turkish men), most of my friends are fellow foreigners in Istanbul. I felt like I've stepped into another world from my 'snow globe'. I've met people who are younger than me but with such amazing life experiences from all over the world. They are so brainy and eloquent. Makes me feel that I've wasted too much of my youth NOT exploring the world and how it can really change a person's perspective. Sometimes I feel embarrassed to converse with these young people (well I'm not THAT old but hey they're years younger!)cos they seem soooo much more wordly and intelligent than me but at times I feel blessed to receive joy in their company and life stories.

I've 2 and half weeks more to Istanbul. Am I looking forward to it? YES and No. Yes cos it's good to be back there - I miss my friends, my life there and of course to start earning again. No cos mom will start bawling, tearing my heart out at the same time and the fact that winter greets me. News has it that winter in Istanbul this year will be THE WORST EVER IN THOUSAND YEARS. No kidding. Global warming. Our earth is really getting messed up just cos its inhabitants are simply nonchalent about preserving it. So yea, think winter this year's gonna kill me. Last winter was already crap as it is... it was my first winter and no it wasn't fun (except for the snowy bit hehe but hey it only snows few days in Istanbul). I was freezing my ass off, on top of that, cos I wanted to save on the electricity (DAMN EX!), I didn't switch on the main house heater thus being at home wasn't such a warm cozy affair as one would usually imagine. IT WAS HELL! I was shivering and wearing way tooo many clothings and my teeth was chattering with cold. Yup, good luck to me.

Gonna end this one now. Will try to write again tomorrow. Have a good one.



Love;
V