Pictures from Bintan 2008

The 300th entry!

~23th Dec 2008~

In the hotel room
Posing
"Catching" the "holy light"

The ghost of Christmas or should I say 'spirit of Christmas'

At Pasar Oleh Oleh, waiting for dinner (at the same place as last year)

One of the frogs my cousins and brothers spotted

Girls

Me and my cousin (Rona)

~24th Dec 2008~

At breakfastOn the hotel room's bed

A blue & white & fishy Christmas

On the van, to Laguna

Lobby of Angsana Resort and Spa

Girls @ Female locker room

The special toilet's doors

~~

Our Villa

Taken from the second storey, the living room

Taken from the second storey, the backyard with private pool

The living room (take 2)

Taken from the second storey, the living room (take 3)

The "sitting room", on the second storey

The backyard

The private pool

Cousins and brothers playing in the pool

Taken from the first storey, The 7 cousins

The 7 cousins (take 2)

Taken in the sitting room at the first storey, Acting "regal"

Our stereo system, with my brothers

Cup noodles on our heads, doing the Indian poses

Singing Christmas songs

My brother, doing the robot dance

In the KTV Lounge

Me, singing.

Our presents

With my presentMy cousin (Rona), Little Emmett and I

My brother, posing with sunglasses

The 7 cousins (take 3)

The 7 cousins (take 4)

~25th Dec 2008~

Me and my cousin (Rona)

The beach

Doing the Jump

Acting Emo

I <3> Alice, written by my cousin (Rona)

Carlisle, written by my cousin (Rona)

Emmett, written by my brotherJasper, written by me

Me with 'Jasper'

I am a Cullenist

Staring into the "well of future"

PS: Credit to the photos goes to my cousin. Some of them are mine though.

Bintan trip 2008

23th Dec 2008:
Ate lunch and my father sent us to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal.

Waited for my cousin's family and more cousins : 2 adults, 7 "children". Soon it's time to check in. This is the first time my brothers and I are going overseas without parents.

The water was very choppy that day. I'll still shuddered when I think about it. The whole 1 hour plus boat ride was a horror. My cousins loved it though. Saw a lot of people vomiting. I was very queasy. There was this personnel walking up and down, giving out tissue paper and bags.

Like what the captain said "you can all breathe a sign of relief" when we were reaching the terminal there.

Travelled to Bintan Lagoon Resort. Checked into our hotel rooms and changed for swimming. Love the hotel room, very nice and romantic.

The 3 girls stayed in one room, the 3 guys in another, and the rest in the last room. I love the en suite very much, with its full-length mirror and bath-tub. Too bad I didn't have a chance to use it.

We didn't swim for long as it started raining.

Went to Pasar Oleh Oleh for dinner. To get there, we had to take 7-seater car. It drizzled while we were having dinner so we went indoors to eat.

24th Dec 2008:
Had hot dog rolls for breakfast at first, but since there's free buffet breakfast provided, we went there to eat.

Checked out of our hotel rooms and we went to Laguna for a short "trip". There's supposed to be a presentation of Angsana Resort and Spa but since we didn't have enough time, we went back to Bintan Lagoon.

Checked into our big villa (Angsoka 06). It's really grand and beautiful. All the times we came to Bintan, we stayed at the small villa. So, this is really a great change. It's very expensive though, a $1000+ per night.

The whole day was just raining away so we missed out a lot of good things. My cousins and brothers played with their water guns at the private pool while I stayed indoors. Even my uncle's golf session was cancelled.

There are 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 "sitting" rooms, 1 large living room with TV and stereo system, completed with a private pool.

We watched all the DVDs I bought there. 4 to be exact. First was Get Smart, Mama Mia, Kung Fu Panda and 27 dresses at 1+ in the morning. We also watched Good Luck Chuck on HBO.

Sang Christmas songs with my cousins and got wild, we were dancing and running around the living room.

My uncle booked KTV from 10pm to 12am. This is my first time going to a KTV and sing. Sang Christmas songs and other songs with my cousins. I usually don't sing in front of people.

The songs were sadly outdated, they seemed to update the song list last in 2004.

Countdown to Christmas at Bintan's time and exchanged presents. My cousin got my name and I got hers. Fate, my brother called it.

I got her "Little Emmett" the bear. I got a dragonfly necklace from her.

We, apart from one of my cousin and uncle and auntie, slept in the master bedroom. The guys on the bed. The girls on the floor on mattresses.

Slept at 4am and woke up around 9am.

25th Dec 2008:
Had the free buffet breakfast again. Went to the beach a while to take photos.

The waves was huge and we were saying that today will be a bad day to go home.

Still raining away, what a waste of the pool. I don't really like swimming in the rain.

Packed up and went to the lobby to wait for the bus to take us to terminal.

Surprisingly, the weather turned good and the journey home was quite smooth. I took 2 "anti-nausea" tablets this time since 1 apparently don't do its job and I slept a little.

Our parents were there, waiting for us.

Went for dinner at Sushi House at Kallang Leisure centre. My stomach wasn't feeling too good and I was really tired.

The food is not too bad though Sakae Sushi is nice.
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It's good to be home. I like it there but it's always rushing here, rushing there.

The weather was real bad this year. Therefore, no BBQ, seldom time for swimming etc. All we can do was to stay indoors and watched TV.

Hope to go back next year to get a Polo Tee. I wanted one but my parents were not around and I didn't have much money. There's always next time though.

I must find a time to make use of the bath-tub the next time. A perfect waste of a perfect thing.
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Luckily, no bad news about Twilight stuff these few days I'm not in Singapore. I hate it when something sprang out of nowhere and caught me in surprise.

I'm sad and angry that Twilight did not make it to the number 1 spot during its the opening weekend in Singapore. IP Man got the spot!? What the...

I watched it twice with my friends and cousins and brothers.

Apparently, the 2 weeks of sneak peeks of Twilight got the most money but because sneak peek is not included in the final box office earnings, Twilight got the 2nd place.

Ah well, Twilight makes money. That's what is important.

PS: Will update the pictures soon.

Going to make this entry short and sweet. Will edit it when I return.

Watched Twilight again yesterday. The whole theater was full again, mostly teenagers girls and guys.

Looked like twice's the charm. This time, I didn't laugh as much. But this may be due to my cousin not with me. Or maybe, my tolerance for the movie has increased. Regardless, I enjoyed the movie better this time because I concentrate on the words and expressions instead.

I caught many little moments which I didn't do so during the 1st time: Pattinson's smirks and smiles, Reed's expressions, the words, etc. Although, it's a pity I didn't catch the one moment. Ah well, I'm getting the DVD anyway, plenty of chances to watch it.

I still laughed when Pattinson said "Hello", the whole theater laughed too. I still cringed when I saw the Quiluete tribe wearing the wolf hats.

Will update this entry when I return from Bintan.

Have a wonderful, twilight-y Christmas.

Christmas song for the year 2008

Here's the Christmas song for the year 2008.

The banner below is done by me.

(Sing to the tune of Deck the Halls)

Stream the tree with black, red streamers,

Fa la la la la, la la la la

Fill the tree with snow and sparkles,

Fa la la la la, la la la la

Feel the tension, anticipation,

Fa la la, la la la, la la la

Tis the season to shout "Twilight!"

Fa la la la la, la la la la

~~

Replace those baubles with some apples,

Fa la la la la, la la la la

Holly garlands with black laces,

Fa la la la la, la la la la

Stringed some crystals on the huge wreaths,

Fa la la, la la la, la la la

Don we now our Twilight-themed shirts,

Fa la la la la, la la la la

~~

What's those presents under the tree?

Fa la la la la, la la la la

Tulips, Ribbons, Chess sets too,

Fa la la la la, la la la la

Let's us gather round the candles,

Fa la la, la la la, la la la

Come and let's sing yule-tide carols,

Fa la la la la, la la la la

Written by: Adrielle SSK

~~

The song title is "A Twilight-y Christmas". The lyrics are mine.

The inspiration comes from Twilight season this year, what with the publication of Breaking Dawn and the movie-of-the-year : Twilight movie.

Christmas and Twilight saga, what a wonderful combination.

Updates on Christmas

Christmas is coming, again.

Anyway, yesterday went to Centre Point. I needed some Christmas spirit. My mother and I ought a Simont pendent each. Surprisingly, they are not too expensive.

I wanted to buy a Simont pendent this Christmas, but thought the better of it during the last few months. Books are so much better. But since, I can't find any books I wanted in Borders, I decided to go back to buying a necklace.

I found a new way of doing banners for Twilight! This time, it's no longer just adding words to pictures. I can do the banners in layers. I already tried it out, and the effect was great. I'll probably post some here next time.

This Christmas, I won't be in Singapore. Off to Bintan, this time without my parents. Hoping to have fun all the same.

Twilight movie review

Twilight movie: The verdict

Green for not-so-good stuff, blue for good stuff for the top potion of this post.

No ratings from me due to a previous post saying I dislike ratings for movies.
Spoilers ahead: Don't read if you don't want to.

OK, here goes, I wouldn't say it's fulfilling to the fullest. It's not that bad as some people put it too. Overall, a so-so movie.
Although, I took a deep breath and prepared myself before the movie started, I was still fairly disappointed by the final product. The essence is just not in the right place.
Robert Pattinson's role of Edward is quite disappointing.

To me, it's 2 different people, completely. The movie Edward is Pattinson. The Edward in the book is the real Edward. The moment Pattinson opened his mouth and said the first word "Hello", made me laughed my head off. His accent was just so weird and awkward. The phrase, "My family, we're different from our kind", made me want to rewind the disc and heard it again to know what he is saying.

I, unlike tons of female fans out there, do not think he is "hot", "cute" or whatever word used to describe good-looking guys. He's not good-looking at all, at least to me.
Kristen Steward looked and acted like she has some kind of attitude problem. I though she will be an OK Bella but seems like I was wrong.
Peter Facinelli as Carlisle was the WOW factor. He's my favourite actor playing the Cullens now. So much like a true vampire.
Billy Burke played a good father role. Very Charlie-liked. Good chemistry with Steward aka Bella in the father-daughter roles.

The actors and actresses playing the humans, were quite good too. Especially Michael Welch and
Justin Chon who were attracted to Bella. Both of them were very funny, just like in the book.

Cam Gigandet as James was cool. Very James-liked. The smelling-Bella-scent parts where he rolled his eyes, suggested how potent and sweet-smelling her scent is. Rachelle Lafevre as Victoria was good. Beautiful and vengeful, especially during the ending when she spied on Steward and Pattinson in the Prom.

Taylor Lautner as Jacob was alright. Hate his long hair but he will get to cut it in New Moon. I really want to see him in short hair, sigh. Please don't change Lautner...
The special effects were not-so special afterall. The stunts in the Ballet and Baseball scenes were great but other than that, erm... The glittering part in the so disappointing Meadow scene made me laugh too. It's alike to pouring glitter powder all over his body and face. Very dissatisfying. And that tree-climbing scene, they should just do away with that part. It's not even in the book anyway. Too awkward.
Music-wise, still OK. I didn't pay much attention to the background music.
Yes, just like many fans who watched the movie, the Baseball scene is my favourite in the movie. I heard that most money was spent in that part too. Wow, baseball never look any better than what I've seen in the movie. Jackson Rathbone aka Jasper, you are cool! Playing baseball left-handed is the coolest thing ever.
After the actors, special effects, music, comes the plot itself.
Plot-wise, not that great. Skipped too many parts in the book and Pattinson and Steward were just not into character. Pattinson looked as if he was trying to resist smiling all the time when saying the lines. He was too rough with Steward and not a "gentleman" like what Edward is in the book.

Prom was watered-down as was the Meadow scene. It was the defining moment in the book yet strangely simplified in the movie. Where are the rest of the Cullens in the Prom? I was looking forward to see Alice and Rosalie's dresses.

The cameo of Stephenie Meyer and the apple in Pattinson's hands were great tributes to the Twilight saga.

From the Baseball scene onwards, everything's just fine. Details still missing, scenes still cut, but at least the hunt is on.
When Lautner aka Jacob was telling the tale of the "Cold Ones" to Steward aka Bella, the memories of the past showed that the former Quileute tribe members wearing pointy wolf hats on their heads. This was the moment me and cousin laughed the hardest. Must they really showed that to tell the viewers they are descendants of wolves?

Catherine Hardwicke's directing is unique. The whole screen will be filled with an actor/actress's face before shifting to another face and shifting back again. Can't she just pulled the lenses out a bit to capture both their faces instead?

I'm not going to nitpick on every single detail that went wrong inside the movie. That way, I'll be too critical.

I know that I said in previous posts that I shouldn't be laughing but all these laughing was not because it was that funny in a comedy way, it was because of the plot and maybe the frustration?

I have to agree with the media about Pattinson's awful acting. Ugh.
I can now totally see what the other fans saw when they commented on the movie. I was wearing rose-tinted glasses at the time and was so angry at fans who said bad things about Twilight movie. Now, I shared exactly (almost) their sentiments.

I can't seem to read any Twilight books without the face of Pattison coming to my mind. Seems that after watching the movie, the actors/actresses are weaving in with the characters in the book. The romantic words that Edward said to Bella in the book was spoilt by him. Zzz...

The media should engage some fans to comment on the movie instead of just asking their own personnel. The big and important difference between a fan's review and a media personnel's review of the same movie is that, a fan has almost all the background knowledge of the characters and plot whereas a media personnel does not. Most don't even read the books to begin with. How can they understand why characters behave in this way and that?

Although I must say, fans are prejudice in a way. I am. I love Twilight that I will watch the movie again and buy the DVD even though it is not that good.

I'm 70% in, 30% out. 30% is mostly due to lack of substance in the plot (I'm blaming the scriptwriter and the lack of budget) and Pattinson's bad acting. So now, whenever I talked to my cousin or brothers about the movie, it's always Pattinson and Steward, not Edward and Bella. Got to draw a line.

Hope to see Twilight movie again. I didn't hear the famous "And so, the lion fell in love with the lamb" line. I guessed Pattinson's mumbling plus the lack of subtitles made it hard to hear.

Well, looking forward to New Moon movie, maybe the change in director will be a good thing. Christ Weitz, it's up to you to make things work out the way it's suppose to. One very good thing about New Moon movie is, Pattinson will be largely missing in it. But if it's Copon who is taking over Lautner, then we'll see.

I almost cry when Edward left Bella in the book, but I think I'll be happy for the lack of Pattinson in the movie.
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Went to Marina Square at 1+. I wanted to see some Christmas CDs. My brothers and I spent quite a while in HMV, browsing. After that, sat on a bench to let time past.

It was 3+ when we went to Golden Village. I collected my tickets with my father's credit card. Waited for my cousins to reach. Movie started at 4pm.

All this while, I was really cold and excited. My heart was just pumping very fast as the moments ticked by. My cousin rushed here from her school, just in time. She is going to Secondary 5.

We went into the theater 1st. I was shocked to see the vastness of the theater and the number of people sitting in it. Mostly teenager girls and quite a lot of teenager guys too.

Our seats were not bad. In the centre of the screen. Then, my cousin went out to get my other cousin in. They didn't missed anything, haha. The movie started. Refer to the top potion to read all about it.

Had a great time whispering to my cousin who is also a Twilighter. We were trying to muffle our talking and laughing all the way.

A good thing that nobody screamed when Pattison appeared. Murmurs rose when Facinelli made his appearance in the hospital. Not "hyperventilating" like my cousin though.
During the kissing scene, the whole theater was quiet. Someone made this "Ooo... Ooo..." sound that had the whole theater laughing.

After the movie ended, my cousin and I were discussing about the movie. We went to walk around, and had dinner at Sakae Sushi. My aunt joined us too.

My cousins bought a bag and Adidas watch respectively.

Reached home quite late, I started blogging, but because it was too long, I finished it today.

A good experience, not necessarily a 5-star movie but since this is Twilight, a dream come true. Twilight fans will know this feeling, particularly those who have been fans since the start. It's a long and excruciating wait.

PS: Perhaps it'll be a better experience for people who didn't read the books to view the movie. Although, confusion will bound to occur. Too many scenes do not flow well and only readers and fans will know what's going on. Either way, there will be good and bad to it.

Twilight movie is here!

Hahaha! OME!

18 December 2008!

Twilight movie is finally here in Singapore!

Thank you for making this movie and making the dreams of Twilight saga fans come true!

--

*Throws confetti in the air*

~Few more hours before going to view it on the big screen~

PS: My brother got into Yishun Secondary School.

Hopefully, a good start to 4 years of good time in a Secondary School.

Final twilight moment & last quote

The day I've been waiting for since forever is tomorrow!

Finally, Twilight the movie is here in Singapore on 18th December 2008!

Tomorrow, I'll be watching Twilight with my twilighters AKA my cousins and brothers at GV Marina. Unfortunately, we can't make it for the first screening, so have to settle for the second screening at 4pm.

I booked the seats via online. Hope that it'll be a good view of the screen. I booked the middle rows, slightly to the left as there are people sitting on the right, behind our row.

I hope that there will not be too many people watching with us. God, I will have this strong need to smack their faces if they scream or whatever. I want to enjoy the experience to the fullest, not have my eardrums burst by reckless screaming. I may be very excited for this moment of my dream come true, but I won't do something like that.

Yes! I can't believe it! Can people suffer heart attacks from adrenaline rush? I'm excited, my heart is pumping fast, I can't wait for tomorrow to come.

In an hour or two, it will be entering into the last 24 hours to Twilight movie.

I will read Twilight one last time before the movie comes out tomorrow.

Today's Life section of The Straits Times and the Chinese newspaper had reports on Twilight movie. Got to cut them out.

What is ironic was that I written an e-mail to someone who manages the books section in Sunday Life (2 years ago?) to recommend the Twilight saga and an interview with Stephenie Meyer. That report was never seen although she did reply to me saying she'll look into it. (I'm not blaming anyone here, just stating a fact) I was hopeful for quite a period of time.

At that time, I felt that Twilight was not getting the attention it should be getting, thus the e-mail. Look at where it is now? Good old times...

Should I be saying no fear at this kind of uncertain moment? I guess I can start counting down to New Moon movie as soon as www.twilightlexiconblog.com confirmed that it is coming out on 20 November 2009. One year from now... Sigh, I have this feeling that it's too soon...

Tomorrow, I'll provide my own feelings and thoughts about the movie, with a full commentary. Have been waiting to do for too long. I got to know what other intentional fans, my cousin, my friends think about the movie. Now, it's finally my turn.
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I'm not the pubescent girl the media seems to have stereotype fans and Twilight with. Teenager, yes. Girl, yes. I fell in love with Twilight saga when I was 15, old enough NOT to be pubescent. Come on, countless of other people love Twilight saga too. Guys, mothers, 20 somethings, etc. Why stereotype teenagers girls?

How funny is it that the media like to stick everything and anything with "hot" guys with teenager girls. I don't think Pattinson is "hot", as some people put it. I still don't like Pattinson playing Edward.
--
Before I forgot, good luck to both my brother and my cousin in getting their results tomorrow. For some reasons or another, I'm hoping that my brother will get into Orchid Park Secondary School, my former secondary school. *Fingers cross* As for my cousin, all the best on your 'N' levels results!
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Last but not the least quote:
"Our vows were the simple, traditional words that had been spoken a million times, though never by a couple quite like us. We"d asked Mr Weber to make only one small change. He obligingly traded the line "till death do us part" for the more appropriate "as long as we both shall live" " ~Breaking Dawn, pg 49, paperback
--

New Moon movie news & 2nd quote

I seriously feel like crying now.

Summit Entertainment is making a big mess out of the whole New Moon movie. Why can't they just stick with things the way it used to be?

I'm praying hard that Taylor Lautner will stay on as Jacob. Please, I'm waiting to see him without his long hair in New Moon. No to anyone who is going to take over Lautner's role, especially that guy ( 26 years old Michael Copon). He's really ***** alright? I can't picture him as Jacob AT ALL. Haha, my brother is saying xxxxx.

For goodness sake, Lautner's face is plastered on T-shirts now, as Jacob. What will happen to these and other mementos if Jacob is changed?

And, New Moon to be release on November 20, 2009? In other circumstances, I will be thrill and pleased. But, now, with the future of New Moon so uncertain and rocky, my happy feelings are overshadowed by them.

It's too early! From what I last heard, filming will only begin in March or April 2009, how in the world can they produce New Moon in such a short period of time?

Some fans are totally put off by these bad news and said that they will boycott New Moon movie, while some said they will try to see how things go in New Moon movie.

Me? I hate all these changes but will still watch it for my love for the book series. If Stephenie Meyer is benefiting from the movies, then I'm all for supporting her.

There's no way I'm boycotting, it has always been my wish to see the twilight saga being made into movies, and screening in the theaters. I have waited so long for Twilight movie to finally be filmed and screen in Singapore. Now, it's New Moon's turn. I really want everything to be true to the book and turn out just fine.

PS: Fill in whatever word you want for ***** and xxxxx. Just know that my initial word for him isn't a vulgar word, let's just say it's a not-so-nice adjective.
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This Thursday, 18th December 2008, is a day filled with "excitement". My brother will know which Secondary School he is going to, my cousin will get her 'N' levels results and of course, Twilight movie outing.

I hope everything will turn out fine. The timings, etc. I'm most probably booking the seats tomorrow night. Golden Village had confirmed with me that new movies timings for Thursday will only be out at tomorrow 6pm.

2nd quote:
"You make me feel like a villain in a melodrama -- twirling my mustache while I try to steal some poor girl's virtue." ~Eclipse, pg 453, hardcover

Twilight-related news, love actually, the tales of Beedle the Bard

Hmm, something unexpected cropped up. I'm afraid that my plans for Thursday will be affected. Well, we'll have to see about it.

Only 3 more days to Twilight movie's official opening in Singapore! Yes, I'm excited. My high expectations for the movie had decline quite a long time ago, things happened. Fans alike gave their thoughts, I read them, prepared myself and that's that. Nonetheless, whatever low ratings people and critics gave the movie, I have not watch it, so, I can't say whether that is true.

To me, low ratings is not equal to bad movie. A movie can have high ratings but it may not attract much attention or receive good profits. Look at what Twilight movie gets, bad ratings, tons of criticism, and where did it stand now? One of the highest grossing movies in 2008. Furthermore, there are still so many countries that the movie has not been released. It'll be huge.

What made it big and successful? Fans, of course. Fans decide whether it will be huge or not. In the end, ratings is just a stepping stone. One only cares about ratings when one has no interest in a movie. Like me, if I have no care or no interest in a movie, I'll go and be bothered by the ratings.
Frankly, a lot of movies depend on the fan-based audience. Who else will go watch a movie twice, 3 times or more?

I'm not saying Twilight movie is perfect, it is actually less than perfect. The book is another universe altogether. Many parts can be improved with a bigger budget.

I'll kept this in mind when I'm going to watch the movie. Whatever, as long as I keep an open-mind, everything will be fine.
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Watched 'Love Actually' yesterday night. This was the 3rd time I am watching it. I promised that this year, if Love Actually came out again, I'll finished watching it. But, there's still half an hour left to the show. I went to sleep at 1am and woke up late today.

Oh well, either I'll wait again for next year or just ask my father to buy it the next time he go overseas. That's actually a good idea. I should have thought of it earlier.

I've finished reading The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K Rowling. It is a great little novel, or should I say, "fairy-tales" for wizards. I enjoyed it very much. My favourite's got to be the tale of 3 brothers. It is the tale inside Deathly Hallows that has helped Harry Potter. I love Dumbledore's comments at the end of each tale.

Pictures from Singapore Flyer & 3rd quote

-Silhouette of buildings against sunset-
-

-Aerial view of city lights-

~ Twilight poster on Shaw House~

-Orchard Road in Christmas splendour-

-Roulette in the night sky-

-Video from travelling through Orchard Road-

3rd quote:

"Alice bounded up to the door in a fashion that would break any ballerina’s heart" ~Twilight, pg 347, paperback

New Moon Director: confirmed

It's been comfirmed.

--

Christ Weitz from the The Golden Compass will be directing New Moon.

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See the link here: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/newmoon_movie.html

--

With reassurances from Stephenie Meyer and Christ Weitz, I feel a little better now. But the final product is another matter altogether. The scirptwriter must do a good job at staying true to the book before the director can do something good out of it.

--

Fun day & 5th quote

Today was fun.

Went to Borders at 3+ and guessed what, I left almost empty-handed. My father's prediction was right. Zzz... It's not my fault that Borders don't have the books I wanted. I'm so disappointed today. I was looking for Into Thin Air by Cindy Miles and many other books.
I only bought The tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K Rowling because it was on sale. The other books that I suppose I would buy, will be cheaper in Popular, so why waste money?

I saw this beautiful and sleek Twilight collector's collection. It cost $50+, gah I want it, but since I already have the Twilight book, then forget about buying it.

Good things come to those who wait, huh? I don't believe in waiting, unless my interest for that something has decreased. So, I'm pondering over whether I should wait for a longer period of time before acquiring Twilight DVD or just bought straight away when it's release. The longer I wait, the better the deal will become, it seems this way.

There are so many Twilight saga books in Borders. Almost makes me feel nostalgic.

After that, we went to the Singapore Flyer. My father's company had this offer for a 3-in-one family tour. We'll be in the air, in the water and on the land. Many people had signed up with their family.

Had to wait such a long time before sitting the Duck Tour though. One of the "ducks" was damaged and thus, the schedule was pushed back. This was my second time going on a Duck Tour.

Then came the Singapore Flyer part. We were actually supposed to go around evening time but it was 7+ when we were in the Flyer. It was a great experience although the view wasn't very nice. Too much construction going on and the city lights aren't that bright.

We went for the Christmas light-up Tour last. We sat on top of a open-decked bus and travelled through Orchard Road. This was the best! The wind blowing on my face, snapping photos away, and Christmas songs from the bus. We were almost like tourists, seeing Singapore for the first time.

Who say this year Christmas decorations isn't nice? It was really beautiful from our view. You just have to look up or look behind, and the whole road is aglow with the white lights and candies.
We seemed to have attracted attention along the tour. In the past, I was always down there or in a car, looking at these buses went by.

Something made my day today: spotting a giant Twilight poster on Shaw House and taking a photo of it. Actually, I took many shots at it, but the bus was jerking and the photos turned out blurry. Thankfully, I managed to take one decent photo.

I don't know what's wrong with my camera. There always seem to be a problem with it. Sometimes, the photos will turn out blurry even though I already set it to anti-shake mode. Day time photo-taking is mostly alright, it's the night-time that things will go wrong. The view will turn out to be blurry or just plain dark.

I'll probably upload the photos tomorrow. Enjoyed myself today even if my feet were killing me.

Oh yes, 5 more days to Twilight the movie!

5th quote:
"How strongly are you opposed to grand theft auto?" ~New Moon, pg 439, hardcover

Twilight-related news & 6th quote

What is going on? The whole twilight saga franchise with Summit Entertainment is moving towards to the direction of being thoroughly screwed up.

I love the whole of Twilight saga and everything. But this fiasco, that don't seem to be stopping, is seriously provoking me, or should I say us.

These are all rumours but you never know when it's becoming every Twilighter's worst nightmare. US$50 million budget for New Moon movie. Summit Entertainment to hire Chris Weitz (The Golden Compass) as the shepherd for New Moon movie. Taylor Lautner aka Jacob getting replaced. What is seriously going through Summit's mind!?

US$50 million budget is way too little for any movie, especially one that needs special effects. And I don't think Summit Entertainment can only fork out that little money. For god's sake, Twilight movie made more than US$150 million in 3 weeks in USA.

I've never watch The Golden Compass but from what people say, the movie adaptation was way off from the book. But the special effects are quite cool. Please, if there's someone who should be replaced, is the scriptwriter for Twilight.

Taylor Lautner can't be replaced. He's great! I really hate it when a cast is replaced in the middle of films.

Now that mid-semester tests are over, I can worry about this more. Perhaps, I should just take a few steps back and let what is going happen, happened. I'm a mere fan and being, what I say and object won't change anything. I should probably let the "professionals" do their "magic". But how they deal with this problem is going to affect the fans.

Naturally, most fans will still watch whatever the quality of Twilight films churn out by Summit. I'm no exception, I will watch them, criticise them, maybe dislike them, and yet buy the DVDs. Well, if Summit is going risk the support of the entire fandom of Twilight by providing us with low-budget and poorly-made movies, then I've nothing much to say.

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I was lucky enough to catch the review of Twilight movie on CNA PrimeTime Morning in the bus
on the way to school. I was really excited to see it. However, like most media personnel and non-readers of Twilight, the way she reviewed the movie was exactly the way that make fans mad.

It was laughable to read all the outraged comments on http://twilightsingapore.com/2008/12/12/cna-primetime-morning-zoom-in-reviews-on-twilight/#comments . I've read plenty of outraged comments on fan sites but this is the 1st time I read something like that in a Singapore-based fan site.

Such poor knowledge of "what's going on". If a person have no background knowledge on something, then don't review and thus making a target of yourself for no reason.

Another Twilight-related news, I had this dream recently. I was in a bus, and saw a Twilight poster on the advertisement stand in one of the bus-stops. I got really excited and I think went down to take a picture of it. And the dream, sadly ended.

PS: Woohoo! Mid-semester tests are finally over! Getting the results is another thing altogether. Now, I'll more time to do the things I want, like making that banner I've been brainstorming on.

6th quote:
"Marry me first"
"Okay. What's the punch line?"
"You're wounding my ego, Bella. I just proposed to you, and you think it's a joke."
"Edward, please be serious."
"I am one hundred percent serious."
"Oh, c'mon, I'm only eighteen."
"Well, I'm nearly a hundred and ten. It's time I settled down." ~New Moon, pg 540, hardcover.
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End of Mid-semester tests

End of Mid-semester tests. Not the grand finale I expected.

Business Accounting 2 paper was alright? I got some parts wrong though. Hoping that at least I can get a B.

Marketing paper was a killer to me. This is probably the last time I will do something so risky. I won't leave it to the last minute to study a subject.

During that 5 hours break after Accounting paper, we went to the library to study Marketing. Anyway, I just studied those things that the lecturer told us "will" come up. True, it helped me a little.

When I saw the last page in the paper, I was totally stunned. I could not remember about the 5 dimensions and the whole of social responsibility. Actually, it was in the surface of my mind, because I was wondering if the 3 concepts of social responsibility was societal, stakeholders and profit. I even wrote them down in my question paper. The big problem was, I wrote something else in my answer book. Gah!

I hope I can at least pass my Marketing...

Mid-semester test: Business Stats, & 7th quote

Business Stats is OK but quite tricky too. Not too sure if an A is possible still.

Question 1, 2, and 3 were alright. Just the same from the tutorials and mock papers I did. Question 4 is the trick question. The way they phrased the question is different from what we usually did.

For some moment, I seriously thought I did the whole thing wrong. The question seemed to be binomial and Poisson distribution at the same time. But I stuck with binomial anyway.

I don't know, I guessed I could at least scored some marks for this question. Oh well...

Marketing and Business Accounting 2 tomorrow. The subjects I hate.

After tomorrow, I'm free, at least for now. Saturday is going to be fun~

7th quote:
"Before you, Bella, my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars--points of light and reason. ...And then you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything went black. Nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by the light. I couldn't see the stars anymore. And there was no more reason for anything." ~New Moon, pg 514, hardcover

Mid-semester tests: OB, & 8th quote

Today's OB is, how should I put it in a non-offensive way? not very good.

I read the case study questions 1st, and this question that is so "easy" stared at me. "Define personality". My mind was a total blank. In the end, I remembered part of the definition. Then, I forgot some of the personal attributes. I can only remembered self-esteem, locus of control, personality type A & B. Luckily, the evidence inside the case study was within these boundaries.

The 2nd case study question was about 5-step OB Mod programme. I had this feeling it will be out before the test, so I focus a little on it. I hoped that at least I can scored for this question.

MCQs were tricky. I think up till now, I had 3 mistakes, which means 7 marks.

Anyway, I got through mid-semester OB test, but there's still final exams...

Business Stats tomorrow. I'm counting on it to get an A. It's actually not that difficult to do well. I already did 3 mock tests, and they are alright to do. So, I think there should be no major problem, unless they are out to kill...

Please~

8th quote:
“Be safe” ~Twilight, pg 249, paperback

Mid-semester test: MacroEcons, & 9th quote

Taking a break from any twilight news.

Today's MacroEcons test was actually OK, not very easy, but manageable. But there's a question (10 marks) that I regretted not spending more time for it. I did the last page 1st, which was easy. Then, MCQs and the rest of the questions.

Anyway, that question was asking for drawing of expansionary fiscal policy. I knew that only after the 3rd time of drawing the wrong diagrams. I think I drew the expansionary fiscal policy wrongly... But maybe, there will be some marks for the explanation.

MCQs were alright, perhaps 1 or 2 that I'm not too sure about. The other questions were OK too. But the more I think about them, the more mistakes I think I make, like the inflationary and recessionary gaps.

When I was doing the paper, everything seems fine. However, on my way home, I thought I did wrongly!? If that's really true, then it'll be like ...

As people say, what had happen, happened. I don't think my brain is that lousy... People get pre-exams jitters, I get post-exam jitters.

Hey, I was relaxed during the test. My mind was actually blissfully blank. It was only until the question on expansionary fiscal policy that I started to panic because there was no time left. I did not read the question properly and had to re-do the diagram 3 times.

All in all, the worst result I can fall back on is a B. MacroEcons is a subject I actually like and interested in. It will hurt me deeper if I get bad results for it.

Organisation Behaviour is tomorrow. Hope everything will be fine. A B is all I want for OB. Too theory-based for me, just like marketing. Stupid OB and Marketing and Business Accounting.

9th quote:
“Just because I’m resisting the wine doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the bouquet.” ~Twilight, Pg 306, paperback

New director for New Moon movie (Part 2)

To continue with the previous post about the changing of director for New Moon movie.

Summit Entertainment considered filming New Moon and Eclipse back-to-back, to save money. Save money... is that what matters most now?

While I welcome seeing New Moon on the big screen sooner than expected and maybe Eclipse too ( a few months difference), I would gladly wait if it means that more passion and heart is put into filming the movies.
Back-to-back filming is great. It means that the time-lapse between New Moon and Eclipse will not be a big difference and the actors will not look so grown-up too quickly.

With a low budget for Twilight movie, Summit is able to earn big bucks. I hope this is not getting into their heads. Do they honestly think that twice's the charm? Fans are the main cause that Twilight movie becomes one of highest grossing movies.

I've said this once and will say it again. New Moon and Eclipse cannot afford to be low-budget movies. This is one of my main concerns regarding this whole issue about Summit's plans.

Another concern is that whether the new director (whoever you are), will live up to the expectations.

This news' got to be one of the most commented news on www.twilightlexiconblog.com. People's reactions to this, ranges from outrage to neutral (wait-and-see-approach) to happy.

I suppose new director means a new beginning. Also, a new director does not necessary mean a bad thing. Actually, all that I'm worried about is the uncertain future and that the director will mess things up. I think this is what most fans worry too. There's no security now.

I'm in that wait-and-see-approach category. Hoping that the new director will be confirmed soon and that Summit will not drop any more bombshells on us. This is enough to keep us awake.
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Today is the start of mid-semester tests. MacroEcons paper at 1pm. This is the one subject I have some interest for and so, have higher expectations for. The problem is, the topics are easy. I must do well for it. At least a B+ but I'm aiming for an A.

New director for New Moon movie

Oh dear, while we have yet to see Twilight the movie here in Singapore, in the US, Summit Entertainment confirmed that Catherine Hardwicke won't be directing for New Moon movie.

Fans are in an uproar over this, be it glad or upset. It irks me to no end that I can't give my view on her as a director because I have not watch Twilight yet.

But, my opinion on finding a new director for New Moon movie is that I hope everything will turn out right. A few points that fans bought up on www.twilightlexiconblog.com are exactly my concerns.

Hardwicke is a fan of Twilight and respect fans of Twilight when directing the movie. As a result, most fans like her even though they may not like her style of filming. Therefore, it will be difficult for Summit Entertainment to find another director who has so much passion and whom fans can connect with.

Secondly, Stephenie Meyer must be allowed to continue putting her input for New Moon movie. It's her book they are making into a movie, so she must be the 1st consultant.

Thirdly, the gender of the new director is hardly my first concern. Male directors can make good romance films too. Only hope is that Summit Entertainment can find a more experienced director, preferably with experience of filming romance movies or epic movies. The new director also must be able to cope with the pressure he/she is going to get.

I don't really want to compare Twilight movie with Harry Potter movies but... Harry Potter movies is a downhill slide from PoA onwards. I really dislike the movie adaption of PoA. Since, Harry Potter movies change directors for almost every book, this is the best comparison. For every movie, the settings in it is different than the other, so there's flow in between movies.

I hope that New Moon and Eclipse will be film by the same director. The 2 books are closely link together so the flow must be perfect. Please stick as close to the plot as possible.

Fourthly, It seems that Summit Entertainment wants New Moon movie out by late 2009 or early 2010 (which is great), but I'd rather wait longer than to have a poorly-made movie because no heart is put into filming it. Furthermore, like I said in previous posts, Summit wanted to achieve what they did with Twilight: low-budget with big results.
No way. New Moon can't be a low-budget movie. What about the wolves and special effects??? That's the big question.

Fans may be forgiving and sympathetic with Twilight movie, but that don't mean that they will be as forgiving for subsequent movies. I mean, you only can mess things once, second time onwards, you are just deliberating.

One theory that Summit is looking for a new director is because Hardwicke wants a large budget for New Moon movie, but Summit does not think so.

Fifthly, maybe Summit can considered changing the screenwriter too. I saw extra quotes/lines weaving in Twilight movie's plot. I hate that "spider monkey" comment to the core. Why must she add all these unnecessary lines into what is a already perfect piece of work?

I can't judge the new director until everything is confirmed. Hopefully, he/she will be someone I heard before or seen his/her directed movies and most importantly, experienced and passionate.

Finally, the main cast must not be replaced. Some of the cast are friends with Hardwicke and/or sign on for the New Moon movie because of Hardwicke. Now that she is out, maybe they won't that enthusiastic. I dislike any movies that changed their cast during sequels.

Anyway, the future is not yet set. (Alice! Where are you?) Perhaps, the future is too choppy for even Alice to 'see'.

*I'll see what the new director has to offer first. This changing of directors may or may not be a good thing. Let's just wait and see then. He/she must also be prepared to deal with whatever onslaught fans will be throwing at them if he/she and Summit mess things up.

8th quote:
"Fall down again, Bella?"
"No, Emmett. I punched a werewolf in his face." ~Eclipse, Pg 342, hardcover
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Fell down, new handphone & 10th quote

Great, I fell down just now. The floor was kinda wet, because my aunt was mopping the floor. Anyway, now my leg hurts and my left hand had abrasions. I can't move my hand as the wound is near to my elbow. It hurts so much even though it's not really bleeding... How am I going to bath??

I changed my handphone today. Samsung again, nice and sleek. The best part is it's $0. The old handphone went to my brother. My number still remains the same.

10th quote:
“You spied on me?”
“What else is there to do at night?” ~Twilight, Pg 293, paperback

I'm going to update something important tomorrow. Not a good thing though.

Tales of Beedle the Bard & New Moon movie

The tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K Rowling is out! And, I'm going to get it, after the mid-semester tests. It's quite cheap at Popular.

At first, I'm not very enthusiastic about the book. It's afterall not Harry Potter books. But now that it's out, I want to read the wizard tales, comparable to us, muggles' fairy tales. The titles already makes me laugh.

Another note, I'm a little worried for the NM movie. Filming has not started but it seems that Summit Entertainment wanted to "do more with less". Please, no. Many times, less is not more.

They feel that Twilight movie, with a low budget did pretty well, and thus, want to continue using this technique. (I did not read the report whatsoever, I got this news from twilightlexiconblog's message board, so if there's misinformation here ...)

I can't judge Twilight the movie yet, but I really hope that NM movie will be better with a higher budget and better special effects. NM will definitely need a much higher budget than Twilight because of the different countries (Italy) they will be going for shooting. NM will also need a lot more special effects than Twilight. Werewolves (shapeshifters) is one big issue, and the Volturi too. A lot of new vampires and members from Quileute tribe will be needed.

New Moon movie must be longer, bigger, better. Longer than 2 hours, bigger with the sets and props, better in its plot: sticking as closely as possible to the plot in the book.

With no delay, NM should be on screen in 2010.
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IQ, new lyrics, twilight news & 12th quote

So, I took an IQ test online. My friends are doing for their psychology and I wanted to see my IQ level too.

I'm a little shocked to say that my IQ is 101, only 1 point higher than average. It's not exactly reliable though, because I didn't have the mood to do it and I anyhow did some of the questions.

As my brother told me, "don't do it, if your IQ level is lower than average, you are going to be traumatised."
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I have written a new song titled " A twilight-y Christmas". It's to the tune of 'Deck the halls'.

So far, I've 3 verses, still depends if I'll put another verse in.

There will be no mentions of any twilight characters in the whole song. By looking at the lyrics, one will know it's about the twilight saga in general.

For examples, theme colours of twilight: Red, Black, White and the 'symbols' of the 4 twilight books. Also, since it's Christmas season, the song will contain the "traditional things to do during Christmas".

All in all, it's a Christmas song with a twist.
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Heard that a week before twilight movie premiers in Singapore, there will be sneak peeks available. I may be a huge fan but I won't go for a sneak peek. Hopefully, many people will go for sneak peeks and on that day itself, there will not be so many people. Various media are giving free tickets to watch Twilight.

I want to book tickets for 18th December screening though. But before that, my cousins must confirm that they will be available on that day. Also, we want to go to one of the largest cinemas to watch. So, I'll be doing the researching.

I could just feel the excitement.

11th quote:
“I may not be human, but I am a man.” ~Twilight, Pg 311, paperback

Lyrics & 13th quote

2008 has not ended and I'm past my 100th entry for the year. What a sharp jump from 2007 of 69 posts.

I started studying but it seems the notes do not registered in my mind.

I've also decided not to put only Twilight quotes till 18th December.

I actually wanted to create the lyrics for an idea : 12 days of Christmas, Twilight style. But, I can't think of that many parts for the song. I was thinking about it during bedtime.
Furthermore, while I don't care about rhyming, I care about the smoothness when singing it. Therefore, the lyrics must fit the tune of the song almost perfectly.

Up till now, there's no inspiration. So, I'm afraid I won't be writing this song unless I got a sudden inspiration.
This is what I got so far: a penguin on a silver plate. There's nothing much to go on.

While I'm not very happy about this, I won't crack my head, that much, to complete it.

13th quote:
" 'You have kept me waiting for a long time' she said."
"And you ducked your head, like a good Southern gentleman and said, 'I’m sorry ma’am.' "
"You held out your hand, and I took it without stopping to make sense of what I was doing. For the first time in almost a century, I felt hope." ~Eclipse, Pg 301, hardcover (Jasper & Alice)
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Updates, NM movie & 14th quote

Today's quiz on France culture was easy! I think I can get full marks.

Here's the quote that I wanted to use to describe my "situation" now.

"I felt like someone had kicked my legs out from under me. The weeks of stress, of worry... somehow in the middle of all my obsessing over the time, my time has disappeared. My space for sorting through it all, for making plans, had vanished. I was out of time. And I wasn’t ready." ~Eclipse

What I'm facing now is not exactly like what the quote says. But, I'm running out of time. I wasn't ready for the mid-semester tests next week. Furthermore, I really like the quote, so I put it here. Note: No one is giving me pressure, it's just me, putting stress on myself. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New Moon movie:
Please, for the Quiluete tribe changing in wolves form, do not do what the director had done in Harry Potter and PoA. See Remus Lupin's werewolf form. I really hated that. It's like wearing a bad Halloween costume. It's almost like a parody.

Jacob and friends will change into proper, gigantic wolves, not to half-man half-wolf hybrid. At least, consult those people who did the 'graphics' for Lord of the Rings movies or Chronicles of Narnia movies. From what I recall, wolves were there, in the movies.

I can only hope that whoever the director is for NM movie, will have an eye for details and put in proper details correctly.
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So, yesterday night, there was this radio channel where the DJ was giving out free Twilight movie preview tickets. She was going on and on about Twilight's plot and such and I couldn't sleep because of that. In the end, I off the radio.

Will it be weird if I said that every time I hear or see something related to Twilight, I will get this burst of adrenaline that shot through my body? Sometimes, I can even get shivers. I have read about people who experience that too.

14th quote:
"Vampires like baseball?"
"It’s an American pastime." ~Twilight, Pg 347, paperback

Ramblings, Rantings & 15th quote

So, I'm now looking through the PowerPoint slides of the culture of France. There's a French quiz tomorrow and questions will be from the slides, I guess.

Oh dear, it's like history lessons again. I really hope that those important dates won't be tested, I can hardly remember them. But France's history is easier because we only need to learn the basics.

France and its people invented a lot of useful stuff, like the bikini, bicycle, sewing machine, hot air balloon, Braille, Metric system, etc.
Do you know that a bikini is not considered a bikini unless it could be pulled through a wedding ring?

We also learn about street culture of France, famous French people (Victor Hugo and Marie Curie) and entertainment in France.
Cancan was founded in France. Cabarets like Moulin Rouge, The Crazy Horse, Le Lido de Paris remains popular with tourists until now. It's very expensive to dine and watch a show at these places though. It would caused about S$ 100+ - 200+.

Victory Day 1945 was celebrated to make the victory of the Allied Powers in WW2. France celebrate its national day on the 14th of July each year.

Wish me luck on my quiz.
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I know this is selfish of me and everything but I can't help to feel that the lesser the popularity Twilight saga gets, the better it is. Twilight the movie is getting bigger in Singapore and I don't like it. Various sources of media are giving free tickets to previews and such.

This feeling is like having your secret shared to everyone. It's no longer that exclusive and special.

But, since this will help Stephenie Meyer rise in ranks of best-selling authors then I have nothing to say. Whatever is good for Stephenie Meyer, is good for us, fans.

Actually, it's the books that matter most to me. The movie is just a branch out of the whole apple tree. I stay true and loyal to the books.

I shouldn't be feeling this way, should I? I should be happy that twilight saga is getting the (good) attention it deserves.

It's just that some of these people aren't even reading the books, yet watch the movie ( and dare to pick on it). They just saw it as the latest "in" thing.

Gah, whatever.

On another note, it's great to see the message boards in twilightlexiconblog.com again. All those fans with their creative banners, avatars and quotes, who have witty minds. I like looking at their posts on the threads.

15th quote:
“Do I dazzle you?”
“Frequently” ~Twilight, pg 168, paperback

Ramblings & 16th quote

Hmm, there's this quote from Eclipse that is very appropriate for use. But to find it, I have to wait till tomorrow.

Had French lecture today so, was quite late when I reached home. I really hate coming home late. Everything will be packed into that 2 or less hours before I went to bed. Eat a late dinner, bathe, use the laptop...

My father will be arriving at Singapore soon. Probably somewhere over the sea.

Twilight has the most number of good quotes but Eclipse's got to be the one with the most number of funny/sweet moments and lovely quotes as well. I'll find them out and post them here after 18th of December, I guess.

Twilight is number 1 for the 4th week running, on the top 10 books "children" bought. This is according to the numbers of books sold provided by the various bookstores in Singapore. Yay!
Though, it's weird how Eclipse is not selling that well. Eclipse is the best book out of the 4 novels!!

16th quote:
“Besides friends don’t let friends drive drunk.”
“Drunk?”
“You’re intoxicated by my very presence.” ~Twilight, Pg 284, paperback
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