Christmas Card Day/Homemade Gift Day/Weary Willie Day/Pastry Day/Christmas Parade Of Lights (Oklahoma)
2006-12-09 @ 11:56 p.m.

I went to Kinokuniya today and bought The Djinn In The Nightingale's Eye because I couldn't find Possession and didn't want to buy Babel Tower just yet. Somewhat disgruntled, so I also bought The Ladies Of Grace Adieu And Other Stories by Susanna Clarke. Almost bought Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, but I stopped myself because I'm not quite sure about my expenses for this month and I want to stay solvent. For now anyway. God only knows how many times I've resolved to rein in my spending habits, only to discard the resolution the very next time I step out of the house. I shudder to think what'll happen when I actually become eligible for credit cards. Anyway, I caught La Tourneuse Des Pages with Eugene and Thong today at The Picturehouse. We were going to catch the earlier show because of my Christmas party (see below for details), but when we got there, none of us had enough cash on hand to buy tickets! So we had to walk all the way back to Plaza Singapura to find an ATM, and they also bought tickets for After This Our Exile, which they were watching in the evening. Tried one of the new Christmas blends at Starbucks and loved it. Peppermint mocha! Okay, so here's the obligatory short review of the movie. It's good, but the lesbian connection between Ariane and Mélanie doesn't sit too well with the rest of the film. It feels forced, but if you consider that Mélanie is trying to exact vengeance on Ariane, it makes the former one twisted little bitch indeed, which I suppose is perfectly acceptable. The menace is palpable yet subtle, which seems to me to be a hallmark of French films. If you like suspense, this one's for you.

Had to make my way to the party by myself, so I had to ask my godmother for directions. She gave very clear ones though, not like my dad, who usually ends up exasperating me instead. My mum's smarter. She just tells me that she doesn't know and since I'm so clever, I should just find out for myself. Made it to Auntie Florence's place before dinner started, so that turned out okay. Ended up playing community poker after dinner and winning for quite a while. Now that was kind of entertaining! Wound up the night with a bunch of Christmas carols, using the same song sheets we've been using since I can remember. (This gathering is an annual affair for us.) Sometimes, it's still the people you grew up with that matter the most. Now it's time for bed and guard duty tomorrow. What a way to start the week...