June went off with a suitcase and a couple of large plastic bags. In her best ah soh outfit complete with a humongous fanny pack to keep her change in, she headed for the flea market in one of the void decks in Sembawang to sell off the junk we have lying around but have never used. She even thought of selling off some of her rock paintings but being too busy this week, her attempt at a PPG Blossom portrait is left incomplete. Oh well, maybe next time Sembawang Town Council has another flea market then.

Some stuff she packaged together to be sold off as 'Father's Day' gifts, like the coffee brewing paraphenelia, and like the incense holder with incense sticks. Business wasn't exactly brisk but she still managed to sell off, count 'em, four items! From the proceeds, she shelled out $5 to buy a throw rug for Belle and Momo to sharpen their claws on. Aren't they lucky? Knowing them though, the cats will ignore it like they do with every other toy we have purposely bought for them. They like to play with stuff they aren't supposed to touch instead, like interesting-looking pieces of garbage and Q-tip's bone-meal biscuits.

Me, I went crazy in the afternoon and bought 'NFS:Underground,' which is quite thrilling to play especially if you are the sort who has a driving licence but can't afford a car. Not at these super-inflated prices, anyway. My simulation personality is very different from the 'real' me, I notice. When I'm driving my sim car, I have the worst driving habits and the foulest mouth imaginable. The fact that regardless of my conscious control, my unconscious instinct is to drive straight towards oncoming traffic rather than avoid it doesn't help my disposition much. Instinct always wins, hence the mouth. In a real car, however, I am such an Ah Pek. If you want to get somewhere fast, please don't ask me to drive. Sim or real, the experience just isn't worth it.

Just watched Prisoner of Azkaban. So dark, so gritty, I swear, even the director's colour palatte has changed. The Dementors and their effect on their immediate environment literally take your breath away. They are so much of a nothingness that the damage they cause is terrifying. The kids have grown up and it's great that Columbus doesn't hide the fact. I liked the balance in the kids' costumes -- they were in their teen outfits as much as they were in their Hogwarts uniforms. As teens they display as much of their own personalities and tastes as often as they can, while their school uniforms are strictly for school.

PoA however, seems like it's missing a great battle to end with a satisfying punch. It's like the feeling I got at the end of The Empire Strikes Back: what, that's it? Credit goes to the movie because despite its length it doesn't feel draggy and you don't feel the passage of time. So, erm... yes, as contradctory as it sounds, PoA is exciting to watch moment-to-moment, but the build-up fails to reach epic proportions. No, it doesn't have to, but perhaps I'm just a jaded old cynic, already over-entertained to death. Even so, I've got 3 words for the movie industry: Bring it on!