Weekend Shenanigans

I have a headache that's stubbornly refusing to go away despite 2 Panadols, 3 glasses of water, and a 20-minute nap. I was puyat again last night, ended up sleeping at 3 AM, but woke up at 8 so I could be at church by 8:30 AM, so that's my theory of why I'm seeing psychedelic dots when I close my eyes.

Just assessing the progress of what I said I would do this weekend, I've done 4 out of 6 things (which means I've got a 66% hit rate), or 5 out of 6 (83% hit rate), depending on how lax you are about the definition of the things I said I would do.

1. I went to the Singapore Art Museum (not the National Museum of Singapore) on Sunday afternoon. While I wasn't exactly wowed by it (although there were few notable pieces, and I really liked the Philippine exhibit - very tongue-in-cheek), most I found bland - especially the Malaysian exhibit: boh-ring. I did enjoy the special exhibit on Wong Keen, a Singaporean painter who spent some time in the US. One particular painting of his I really liked, and I thought this by far was what Singaporean artists should be celebrating - it featured about 8 ah-pe's converging around a traditional food court stall. Bright, colorful, and definitely a slice of contemporary Singaporean life, and non self-conscious dig at local culture, much preferred over the artistic realism favoured by some of the artists featured (historical kampong-ish snapshots, Samsui women and snakecharmers are all subjects, to illustrate), or imitation of traditional Chinese ink/Western cubist painting.

2. I saw "300" with some friends on Saturday. I liked it, and can't be bothered to elaborate. So there.

3. I got a pedicure.

4. I went to mass, but didn't go to confession. I think I've rationalized that it's pretty futile. Sinning is too fun. Len reckons that I should just invent my own sacrament - pray that I'm sorry, and then take a bath. After all, what else is confession but a bath for the soul? I tell her that nothing I can possibly come up with can replace 2000+ years of Roman-Catholic tradition, so I think I just need to psych myself up more to go for it (maybe next week). It's not like I'm plagued by guilt or anything, which is probably the root of the problem - the primary consideration is that you DO feel sorry, which I don't - as I credit it to life experience. And the fact that I'm thinking like this makes me feel guilty (aagh - blasphemy!), but not about the sins that "should" count. It's funny because I like to think of myself as someone With Faith, but clearly I've screwed it all up to suit how I feel at the moment, and I guess that makes me pretty much the same as the rest of the "Catholics" the Philippines churns out at the moment. So I think I shall spend this week contemplating my sins, and LEARNING to be sorry for them. Sort of hypnotize myself into feeling MORE sorry. Of course I'm being quite blase here, but I do want to take this seriously, and at least attempt to have a good confession, because bottom line is that I've been too enculturated to consider this important. And I know - GOD IS REAL! There's that old dilemma posed by Descartes - a sort of 2x2 matrix, which (to the degree that this blog format allows me) I shall attempt to explain: Suppose...

1. Box 1 - God exists, you live a life of goodness and moderation, and you go to heaven and get your eternal reward when you die.
2. Box 2 - To be on the safe side, you live a life of goodness. However, God doesn't exist, so you just wasted your life and missed all the fun.
3. Box 3 - God exists, you live in sin, and go to hell and eternal damnation when you die.
4. Box 4 - God doesn't exist, you live a life of sin and excess, and you die (nothing happens to you because you totally disappear.

In this illustration, Descartes proves probabilistically that you're better off being good, as you have 1 "good" situation (Box 1), 1 "compromise situation" (Box 2), and you completely avoid the bad situation of box 3/"hell". This logic makes sense to me, so I try. There are also other attempts at logically proving Gods existence (e.g. the writings of St. Anselm), but I think bottom line, it's still rooted in your own personal experience. Haay. So - must feel guilty this week!

5. Read "Natural Born Charmer" by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (a romance novel owned by Len), instead of "Execution", which I said I would read. I don't know why I need to keep giving disclaimers about the books I read. Yes, I read romance novels, but am embarrassed to admit it. Why I am admitting it in this public blog, I don't know - but yes, they're enjoyable! It was great! I loved it - it was funny, and 'feel-good'. It's as good as therapy, so yes, it was a good book, and I would recommend it to anyone who can get over the fact that it is a romance novel.

I didn't go to the gym because I was too lazy. =(

Oh, on my way back from the SAM today, I passed by a little gift store at Raffles City, next to the Din Tai Fung. They had a 'kinky'/slightly 'naughty' apron made of black vinyl, which I thought was a really cool idea to have around the house if you like to cook, which I do.