i took my first driving practical today. i was not expecting to drive so soon, but so soon did i drive. i mean a guy with no experience whatsoever, crashes all the time in daytona and knows not the difference between a steering wheel and a wheel of fortune wheel, the first time i drove this killing monstrosity was actually quite exhilarating and empowering. of course i had my own fair share of mistakes and the instructor kept scolding me. but nothing beats the sensation of completing a sharp right bend and ending in the same lane. i mean.. it kept running across my mind that i made it alive and i did not scratch the car.

after that i met valerie and jingwen at the takshimaya food fair. it was my second time there, but the stores with their plethora of sights and multitude of smells and heavenly wafts of deliciousity was overwhelming and they never ceased to seduce my gastric juices. the fried durian was and probably for a long time be a favorite food.

then i met up with dingyuan, benny, alvin and yao to watch brotherhood. two brothers with such a deep love and the war that changes both of them. both split up in their separate ways, but its a love so strong and a blood bond so thick, that jin seok braved all the odds against him to bring jin tae back to sanity. i am such a softie to all these genre. but i never cried so much in a movie before. all the separation, reunion and death scenes are saturated with tear and heart jerking emotions backed up by a very sorrowful string ensemble playing those long tragic notes really did the trick of extracting those tears in my eyes. however its not those sad-so-i-cry sort of scenes. they really reached into the bottom of my stomach and the emotions fountained, not welled, in me.

for me its a scene i guess i would never experience in my life, so that's why it affected me so much. i could imagine and put myself in the characters' shoes and felt so much tragedy. ah well, the war was like, ok only. some parts unrealistic but they serve as the exteny jin tae was willing to go and the sacrifices he was willing to make to send his brother home. what i like most about the show is the fact that war, as a form of tragedy, do change people, for better or for worse, and the extent it affects each individual. in the end, the message is war is terrible. world peace everybody.

i really enjoyed the day. full of ups and downs. trials and tribulations. but i overcome it day by day. (sugarbabes) and yao, the next time you drink, i am so going to beat the crap out of you before you will find yourself flattened under the tire of a car. either that or i will flatten you myself once i get my licence. cheers!