randomthoughts

2010-10-18T16:06:00.004+08:00

... Is it really October already? ~~and not just October, but a little past mid-October.~~

Even though nobody reads this blog anymore (not even me), it's kinda therapeutic to come over once in a while just to look at the record of my mind. I like to think I've changed every time I visit this blog, so I can get all nostalgic when I browse through the archives (speaking of which, there are no links to on this page. Huh. Must fix that if I haven't forgotten all my HTML skills).

Came to an interesting conclusion last night, while looking through my keepsake pouch and looking at yaoi art (threesome, to be precise). Well, I do confess that I've been thinking about this for a very long time but last night was the time I actually believed what I was saying. This blog isn't private enough for me to disclose what it is, but I feel more confident about myself now.

Made leaps and bounds with my drawing skill and confidence in my art; now all I need is a tablet and life will be complete. I intend to spend the December holidays doing some serious anatomy and composition practice.

Sometimes I wish I could be a better person; more hardworking, more tolerant, less emotional, less sensitive, more emotionally involved... I have nothing to say for this but to keep working at it. I know I can be so much more.

Now, a lot of people I know like to end off with religious/self-motivational/hopeful crap, but blah. I don't do this kind of thing. I accept myself for who I am (though I still do want to change) and shall say here that those stuff are for wussies.

2010-04-09T18:24:00.001+08:00

... I'm alive!

I can still remember a time when blogging was something I did every day *hollow laughter* Well, things have changed quite a bit now; since online friends are more willing to read what I've been up to in RL than RL friends, I do half my blogging on LiveJournal and the other half on Facebook ^___^

In part, I'm a lot more confident about letting my true interests and feelings out in public. It has to be the company I'm keeping; not only am I more outspoken, but I'm more prone to bouts of insanity - which make me happier than I can remember.

It's good to be alive.

I want to see more of the world; my solo trip to the UK was a true experience I'd love to repeat (though traveling alone can be a bit lonely and people do stare when you talk to yourself *smirks*) Right now, I'm planning to go either Japan (the land of fandom obsession), Texas (to see Margo) and a return trip to the UK (to see everything else I missed out on the first time around).

Besides other trips I'm going to be making much closer to home, I'm going to have the most amazing summer of my life.

Because things come and go, people grow and change, epochs start and end. But I'm still here, and I'm not going anywhere for a long time. Sure, I get depressed, but it isn't as bad as it was in JC when I emoed a lot. A whole lot. At least I have people I can talk to, and who understand how I feel, and don't load their emotional crap on me in return. I had a lot of emotional baggage back then.

So now I can start living, and trying out being happy for a change.

2009-10-29T13:40:00.002+08:00

Whoa - end of October already? Time flies when you're not having fun *smirks*

Nothing much is going on in my life, apart from the mountains of not-work - whoever said university life is slack ought to be shot. Preferably with a stun gun (don't want murder on my conscience - but I don't want to let'em off easy either) *winks*

As a matter of fact, I have two term papers due next Monday and yet, here I am blogging about absolutely nothing.

Well... not really. Let me see...

*counts off on fingers*

The Mr-Koh-and-Mr-Leow-farewell party ~~and good riddance, Mr Leow~~ is going on tonight. I'd go, if not for the fact I'm mad busy and am already double-booked for that night. Pooh. Not really attached to them both, so it's no big loss, me not attending. Anyway the atmosphere would be tense; it's less than two weeks to the start of 'A' Levels 2009. LOL - moar suffering for those poor people who tormented me last year *is unrepentant*

Pulled a muscle in my left shoulder on Tuesday while shooting - still hurts to move it in a certain way. Hence, I might be skipping training tonight (one of my double-booked appointments) and go to the movie screening instead. Sex, sex and more sex in university - I'm jaded already.

In fandom news, the same old same old - not that anybody's interested in this portion anyway. But the 3rd Quarter at IYFG's up, and I look forward to not winning anything again. Despite being nominated and seconded, I always get trounced at the polls. Ouch - considering the rest of my writer's circle come out with a few shinies. Maybe I don't have the mass appeal factor - or maybe some coalitions need to be smashed *glares at a handful of cliques*

Multichapter works getting on fine. My characterization skills are still lacklustre, though I like to think they're getting better, really really slowly. Now obsessed with a new story of which I have more than 8,000 words but am not going to post until I finish one of my WIPs or at least hit 10,000.

Contest comm-wise, I'm doing fairly well. My Inuyasha/Sango serials have been met with universal horror from friends and Pit members alike - something which never ceases to amuse me. I thrive on deviating from the norm. Nevertheless, Harsh Reality managed to snag a second-place banner (for a canon platonic Miroku/Kagome piece, alas). So far I'm doing well in my Mir/San haunt, alternating between making and breaking. Snagged another shiny yesterday morning - woot for hyperactive plot bunnehs (which gag and bind the work ethic bunnehs, LOL)

By RL standards, the bruise on my arm is now gone. I got it last Thursday when a table (yeah, one of those long dining tables) fell onto my arm. The wimpy guys were about to die carrying chairs up two flights of steep stairs (even with me lending them a hand, LOL) so I helped carry tables. And my partner dropped it on me. Luckily the muscle cushioned it or I'd have a fracture or something more serious - but here I am, with a bruised arm which is more or less back to normal.

... Oh gawd, I'm rambling. That will be all.

2009-10-09T23:47:00.003+08:00

Believe it or not, I'm actually taking some valuable sleeping time out to blog.

University life is madness! I have like one million essays to do (exaggerating, of course: only about 3 at this point in time) and several tests to study for. Like my Sociology midterm next Wed... which I still have no idea how to tackle T_T I mean, Sociology feels so much like GP (with odd terms, yes) it's easy for me to get carried away *sighs*

It doesn't help that I have like 3 CCAs... I told myself I wouldn't get so involved after JC but apparently, I must be thick-headed. And each of these CCAs keep me madly busy.

Archery's cool now; really like the people in it. We're all crazy/Japanophiles/insane/random - just how I like it :D Especially my BFF (Best Freaky Friend) Dorcas... I seriously think we were separated at birth because it's kind of creepy how alike we are...

Hall CCAs suck. I joined them simply because you need to, if you wanna stay in the halls - but this is madness! I'm the stupid sai kang warrior for all their legwork! No matter - JJ leader training is super handy...

Well... that's it for my RL. Honestly, there isn't very much exciting stuff going on in my life right now.

2009-09-23T17:32:00.003+08:00

Here I am with an update.

Just came back to Singapore after a whirlwind four days in KL crashing at Ming's place :D and catching up with the ladies. Eight years of friendship and we're still going strong (I hope)-_-;;

It was good to see them all, now that we're really going our separate ways (as though I wasn't the one to split first) and do some heavy catching up!

Everything is still sore from orbing - allowing oneself to be strapped inside a giant rubber hamster ball and being rolled down a hill with the option of having water thrown in with you or not. Let's just say I now know how clothes in a washing machine feel like.

I really, really like the way Ming screams :D

Almost forgot to turn in my essay to Turnitin - horrid coincidence that I left on the 18th and returned on the 22nd - the former the deadline for the hard copy and the latter the deadline for the soft copy. A good thing my tutor extended the deadline a little.

Damn, I have mid-terms to deal with when school starts again next week. Not to mention I have to look at the results of the Pol Sci and Lit tests I took last week. Oh the horror.

Felt fat the other week, ran 2.4. Took me a damn long time to finish running - man I'm getting old and fat.

Should I get a new bow? Mine is a little too light. Hell, I'm dependent on the wind speed to shoot.

2009-08-29T21:14:00.000+08:00

First of all, I'd like to thank 'Glen' (if that is your real name) *points to tagboard on the left* for your insightful commentary. I'm sure many wild, extroverted party animals would agree with your intelligent insight. Oh, and thank you again for gracing my tagboard with your nuggets of wisdom (because I'm sure there aren't many). Do be sure to not limit your generosity to me, consider going around to bestow your brilliance upon other lesser mortals.

Moving on...

As 'Glen' has pointed out, hall living is not for the anti-social. To prove I'm not entirely a lost cause, I do participate in all activities - I'm joining Hallplay and the Culture committee (despite the major likelihood of the said activities screwing up my academics).

Anyway (scathing commentary aside) this week wasn't bad. Lectures as usual with the addition of two tutorials (every week), Theatre and Lit. The lecturer for Theatre is my tutor (I suspect he's everybody's tutor) who isn't a bad teacher. But I do think the subject's a bit too cheem (no joke) for me. Lit was a bit more fun, I have a Filipino post-grad student as my tutor. He shares the woes of pretentious Lit teachers who shove their interpretations of the text down your esophagus. I think his lessons will be fun *grins*

Can't wait for next Wednesday, when Socio and Pol Sci tutorials start: I look forward to rushing between the Engin department and the Arts department in 5 minutes (woohoo...).

Archery is killing me; I'm too old and fat. Every muscle in my body hurts except for my tongue. Somebody needs to go to the gym more often...

Home for the weekend, back to the grind on Monday. August is coming to an end already, time passes so fast! I mean, midterms are in 3 weeks *faints*

2009-08-26T11:14:00.002+08:00

I wanted to post the other day, but HTML was fail. As if y'all didn't know, my computer skills are next to nada.

Nothing much has happened in my life so far, unless you count me being highly anti-social in the halls. Anti-social like bathing early or late so I don't have to bump into those perky, chipper girls on the same floor. Or locking myself into the sanctity of my room so I don't have to venture out into the world.

Hall life is great (I can say "my room" and really mean it) - now I've moved in my guitar so the nights don't have to be so lonely. With a guitar, a laptop and a loner disposition, I look forward to the rest of the semester.

I'm supposed to be working on the book's illustrations but I can't muster the excitement. The final leg (these are my final set of work) and all I can do is slack ~~and imagine my boss tearing all his hair out from frustration.~~ But I really do have to summon what little of my work ethic (which went out the window after 'A' Levels were over and done with) and chiong.

Oh, and deco. I need something to paste all over my pathetically naked walls. I can't decide whether I should import my massive collection from home or go out and buy some more: I mean, posters are expensive, especially with my taste. Not to mention I need the cash to expand my manga collection.

It sucks to be a student: you want everything and can afford nothing.

2009-08-23T20:36:00.000+08:00

Don't you just love me updating this blog? *waits for the sound of applause*

*is deeply disappointed*

... Ah, whatever.

Week 3 of school is coming up and boy, it is hectic (even with no tutorials for me yet). Somehow, CORS has decided to kindly screw it up for me again and despite me balloting for all even tutorials, I got all odd week ones (other than the ones I have every week). I even have my Sociology tutorial in the Engineering department - I thought I'd read the timetable wrongly but yes, it is there. Oh bugger.

The dorm is comfortable enough: I've moved most of my barang-barang in already. The rest of the family has been to visit, with the result of me having more junk to squeeze in. Dorm life rocks! The independence, the fun of living on your own, the drunken late-night parties... which I hear from my room at night. Hah - you thought I actually partied? Nah, I don't drink. I'm a less violent version of Cary Nation (go look her up on Wikipedia if you have no idea who she is).

On the CCA side, I've joined NUS Archery. It's the natural step, considering I still have all my equipment rotting in the house. The fact that I can actually shoot with it just makes it better. Training's vigorous: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 9pm, Saturdays from 10am to 1pm. As a result, I am now horribly sunburned with an attractive pattern of the arm-guard tattooed on my arm. Oh joy.

Will write more when I have anything else in my life interesting enough to write about :)

2009-08-13T16:26:00.002+08:00

Yay. I'm finally updating.

The first week of school is over and even though it's only 2 hours per lecture (1 hour for Theatre Studies) I'm pooped.

I go into the lecture hall and listen to the lecturer talk, I can feel myself slipping back into JC habits, LOL (this is not a good thing because it means falling asleep). Can't help it, now is only the first lectures and it's mostly housekeeping affairs. So thankful I don't have SPA any more.

Excited for lectures to begin next week - I'm already ploughing through my assigned readings for Political Science (though I need to read them again and make some notes on the side so I know exactly what I'm supposed to know) and bought the books for Sociology. Uni life is certainly going to be no picnic.

I wish I can go back and start JC life all over again... now I'm no longer so noob and know what's going on, I have to graduate and start all over again at the bottom of the noob chain in university. Damn, life is so unfair. At least in JC I know people. Nearly all the faces here are older and unfamiliar.

Apparently Zhinian is in my OG (she's on my contact list) but she was busy with Rag the whole camp. It's nice to know I have somebody I know around.

Met Germaine and Rouisanna yesterday: long time I haven't seen seniors (I'm a senior myself, for crying out loud). They made me feel young again *winks*

Nice surprise: just before I was about to buy some lunch, Hoi Yee called to say she and Dan Dan (plus a new friend Jing Yi (?)) were coming over to The Deck. Had lunch with them and Cherie - feels awkward when JC and secondary school social life collides. Haven't forgotten the last time it happened; I can practically feel the consequences. Still, it was nice to see them again. Have promised to meet up again (maybe next Thursday) since they all have a free slot that day.

Finally went to get my dorm room. Nice little place, a little tight and dusty (not to mention leaves all over the place). I'm gonna enjoy independent living (and dump my laundry all at home, haha).

2009-07-24T02:56:00.002+08:00

Heh.

This post is actually quite unecessary, because I'm coming back the day after tomorrow (Saturday) and I don't exactly have the time to post now.

But bear with me. I'm bored and pissed.

Pissed because I got ~~snubbed~~ ah, passed over yet again at my LJ communities. For some of them I really don't mind, because I am writing some edgy stuff that isn't for everyone. Not the popular choice, it really doesn't matter.

But being ignored for weeks and months on end even when staying within the mainstream? This doesn't sit well with me - especially when you're as competitive as I am. I expect to have at least something to show for my efforts.

Meanwhile, some people rack up the awards with not as much as a bead of sweat. it irks me, it really does.

The final straw will come at the end of the month; I'll see whether I should go into self-imposed exile.

2009-07-09T10:28:00.002+08:00

Bought a digital camera last night. Not such a bad price; debated with the little sister for a while, though, about the $500 cameras versus the $350 camera (which I eventually bought).

It's a nice replacement for the old one (which suffered a miserable fate) but I have to admit I'm ~~a bit~~ okay, a lot of a techno-idiot. I hate steep learning curves for gadgetry: one of the reasons I was so unhappy about my new phone was having to learn how to use it all over again.

I'm going to the UK tomorrow night... and I still haven't finished packing. Rawr.

2009-07-07T23:37:00.001+08:00

Quote of the day:

Inuyasha leapt from his tree and proclaimed Miroku to be a child born out of wedlock forsaken by God as well as the son of a female dog that he has an inappropriate relationship with. In addition he informed the monk that he should consider his destination to be the theological place of eternal punishment.

Well, maybe he didn’t use those EXACT words, but the meaning was pretty much the same. He also felt it necessary to express his displeasure in a more… physical way.

~ Music Soothes The Savage Beast by TouchofPixieDust

Too funny.

2009-07-07T22:37:00.003+08:00

Apparently I messed up the old template too much, Tech Support couldn't do something satisfactory with it. Daijoubu, I wanted to trash the old layout anyway: getting a bit bored of the Inuyasha theme. This is a big change, isn't it? So much brighter than the old mugger template. *grins*

I'm keeping Kirara though, she's too cute. Far cuter than me.

Anyway, not much to write this time. I'm going to start updating the blog regularly once I start school (because I love reporting my every day life to the Internet population).

A few updates:
1) I'm going to move into the NUS student residences. No more living at home.
2) The book is going to be released next month (I have postcards, people. If I haven't already ~~stuffed them in your face while shamelessly self-promoting~~ given you one, come look for me).
3) I'm going to the UK for two weeks this Friday. Try not to celebrate while I'm gone.

2009-06-16T15:27:00.012+08:00

Okay, long time no update because I've been busy devoting my efforts into my LiveJournal account rather than here. I'm sorry, but yes. The tagboard here is as dead as a doornail.

Anyway, just a quick note: the book, It's I'MPOSSIBLE, which I illustrated, will be launched next month. I'm really hoping there will be people going to support us ex-JJ students (author, co-author and the illustrator, yours truly). More details will be supplied before the event.

The book's website can be found here: Only a few pieces of my work are posted there: but if you would be as kind as to mosey over and take a look, I'd be happy. (I'd be happier if you bought a copy, hint hint.)

You can get a postcard from me FOC as well as pre-order the book by telling me. Or you can just follow the instructions on the website. It's that easy to get your hands on it, and it's dirt cheap when you pre-order. Oh, and they don't come with my autograph, you'll have to chase after me yourself *grins*

And yes, I am back from visiting family in Malaysia. Bought plenty of barang-barang at low, low prices. For the full inventory, you can shift to the left, there's a link to my LJ page where you can view the dirties.

I traveled light - I donated blood while over in Penang. Not gonna donate in Singapore any more, because they pay you for the blood donated in Penang, Yes, for one bulging bag of blood (that part is always nasty no matter where you go) you get RM60 (roughly S$30) worth of supermarket vouchers. Here, you get a brightly coloured elastic bandage. No brainer which one is more popular.

Pros: Nice bed to lie down in, free television, if something goes wrong, the emergency unit is one speedy gurney ride away, vouchers of course, comprehensive blood check for hepatitis and other abnormalities with results in a few hours, professionals doing the blood drawing, free hot Milo.

Cons: Stabbed with a needle three times (once to draw a vial for testing, once to put in the local anesthetic which incidentally does not work and the final time to suck out the blood), PAIN (the blood needle is the size of a bloody Vitagen straw - I'm not exaggerating), even though the nurses are pros, they managed to tug on my needle while it was still in me. Yowch,

Anyway, both arms (one for testing, the other for drawing the bag) are awfully sore now and the usual restrictions apply. No running even though I feel FAT (and since when is that new?) and no heavy lifting, but that last one went out the window. Darn heavy luggage.

2009-05-11T20:56:00.007+08:00

Gyaah.

The stupid blog template refuses to cooperate with me. STOP flashing, damn you. Stop. *headdesk*

Practically a month since I last updated here, eh? *cackles* Anyway, I do wonder who comes here to gawp at my Internet ramblings. Yes, you. Hello. *waves*

Since everybody is ~~bragging~~ sharing the details of their university acceptance letters, I suppose I should too. I got letters from NUS and SMU for both Social Science (SocSci) faculties. I need to pick one ASAP before June which is a major headache.

After checking out the details of the universities, I conclude I won't get much chance of getting a dorm room (they'd better give me one, heck it! I live in bloody Bukit Batok, ~~it's hell in the morning on public transport competing with them masses~~ it's difficult to travel with public transport due to the alarming quantity of fellow commuters.) Priority is given to international students, I count as one, don't I? Ahahaha.

Stopped reading books, started (actually I still am) reading plenty of manga, watching too much anime. Still obsessed with Inuyasha (I have too, I write fanfiction for the damn fandom) but I'm also venturing into Sakura Taisen. It's not a bad series (I recommend the manga) but volumes are awfully hard to find and I have a bad feeling they've discontinued the series. T.T

Err... the main point of this post is to update you with the pertinent details of my life and also to exercise my pathetic HTML skills. So I'm gonna post a few of my shinies here. Take this as a golden opportunity: I don't normally let my real life and my writing life collide.

Quick cheat sheet: 'Shinies' are better known as banners. They are awarded as prizes for LiveJournal fanfiction writing competitions. This here blog owner (as well as many other writers) tends to be a bit obsessive when it comes to showing off them shinies.

2009-04-13T17:01:00.002+08:00

Garrgh.

You, kind reader, might be interested to know that I went to church yesterday. *sweatdrops*

It's not what you think! Hema invited me to see her church production. Apparently in Singapore, 'church production' means the whole hog: service and show. In Malaysia, a show is a show. No religious stuff (apart from the show itself, naturally).

So... it was awkward, so to say the least. There was singing and preaching and praying and lotsa stuff that made me squirm. There were so many people there, most of them my age, give or take a few years. And the service is all the way at Expo!

The crowd trying to get in and out was frightening. So many people trying to get into church.

Recently, I read this article about religion in Singapore. They did a poll: a HUGE proportion of teenagers say they are Christian but their family members aren't. Can you say cult-like? *censor alarm goes off*

Quick disclaimer: I am in no way insulting or disrespecting Christianity, or religion in general. Some (okay, nearly all) of my closest friends are Christian. I am a firm believer in the Constitution which states that freedom of religion is guaranteed to all (freedom of speech is there too, incidentally.)

Back to the discussion. The atmosphere in the church was frightening. People closing their eyes in estacy as they communed with the higher powers. For goodness' sake, there was even a healing session where people laid hands on each other and prayed.

Now, belief is a powerful thing. The placebo effect does have miraculous properties which can make the blind see, the crippled walk and the scourge of cancer disappear. But can we afford to wait for a miracle? Let's take a hypothetical situation. Out of a thousand cancer patients who attend church regularly, one makes a full recovery. Is that a miracle? I, a creature of science, would think otherwise. In fact, I'd harvest her cells and search for cancer-fighting agents (just kidding).

That's over. In other news, there was a massive book fair over at Expo. Hema and I flew in and browsed. For me, it was like a starved child being fed with sumptuous food. But you know me.

In the end, despite the giant savings, I managed to blow $52. But I was - still am - deliriously happy because I found a new manga to read! For an old title, Sakura Taisen is great.

By the way, anyone living here in the west side of Singapore who wants to go over to the east side for fun should have their heads examined. That place is so packed with people one can hardly walk. We tried to pay a visit to UniQlo but guess what? There's a queue to get in. A really, really long queue. Singaporeans are mad. Don't really mind this time, though. The clothes are really nice.

Tampines is crazy! There are three shopping malls sprawled around the MRT station. Three. All of them were packed to bursting to people, even the old ones. Don't even think about getting into Tampines One.

In the end, managed to find some lunch (at 5 something!) before bidding a happy farewell to Tampines.

Today's news: went for an interview over at SMU (Social Science faculty, or SocSci). Madness. The whole time was spent talking about Law.

I don't even want to think about it, nutsy.

2009-03-28T11:32:00.003+08:00

Watched two excellent movies these past few weeks.

Departures (Japanese romaji 'Okuribito') came highly recommended by nearly every movie review I came across. I'd been looking for a movie buddy for ages to watch this but didn't find one for quite a long time...

Anyway, last Sunday, me, Priscilla, Hema and Cherie went to watch it. As usual, I was the first to show up (at the meeting time, damn it). Cherie arrived stunningly late, as per normal. Good thing the movie started at 3 something. After mooching around, we decided movie theatre snacks were far too exorbitant and dashed off to NTUC Fairprice to buy better stuff, resulting in s being slightly late for the movie. Thankfully Golden Village has way too many commercials for its own good.

The movie was brilliant. Genius. Not as obscure as most arthouse Japanese films on Okto, it was nevertheless slow, subtle and touching. Basically, the movie is about failed cellist Kobayashi Daigo (Motoki Masahiro) returning to his mother's house and inadvertently finding himself a job as an undertaker of sorts. (He cleans and prepares bodies for encoffinment.) Along the way, he dispels taboos about the job, finds an identity for himself and reconciles with his estranged father. The beauty of this movie (along with many other Japanese movies) is the way they manage to encapsulate so many themes and truths without appearing naggy or hyped.

However, many of the reviews stereotyped this movie as a 'black comedy'. I beg to differ. Sure, there are some moments in the film that can be called such, but most of the movie is too sentimental for that. Some parts are slow-moving (like the scene where Daigo realises how important his wife is) but the musical interlude with Daigo getting used to his job (and playing his cello) was pure genius.

The movie was scored by Joe Hisaishi, who I later found out scored other movies like Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, My Neighbour Totoro and Princess Mononoke, all of which are famed Miyazaki Hayao movies. The lush score, particularly the main theme was stunning.

Credit goes to Motoki, who reportedly learnt to clean bodies and play the cello for this movie. His 'rubber face' endeared his character to the audience and perfectly captured the spirit of a musician.

I watched Confessions Of A Shopaholic the other day with Xue Xuan. While not as deep and erudite as Okuribito, it was certainly a good laugh.

The movie is actually an amalgamation of the first two Shopaholic novels as well as a great deal of creative licence. Like for example, Becky is American instead of British, Tarquin has become a lovable guy instead of wealthy, socially awkward British noble who no longer plays a big role in the plot as in the books, Luke does not set up Brandon Communications until the end of the movie. Instead, he is Becky's boss at Successful Savings. Throw in Alette, an over-zealous shopaholic support group and The Girl In The Green Scarf and you get a movie which is reassuringly familiar as well as being delightfully new.

Many hilarious scenes abound, like Becky's imagination about the shop mannequins and the horror that is her closet. Despite stretching for nearly two hours, the movie has relatively little romantic action which will surely disappoint the fans of the books. Also, Derek Smeath has been depicted here as a nerdy, pathetic villain, a quirk which I hated. In the books, he is a lovable, long-suffering man who eventually befriends Becky. In the movie, Becky has the last laugh as she pays off her $10,000 debt... in pennies.

A good, cheap laugh which doesn't need anything to be funny and appealing to all. I strongly recommend real-life shopaholics should watch this. (You know who you are).

2009-03-08T13:58:00.002+08:00

Well, Doomsday is over and done with. I can come out from under that dark cloud I have been hiding. So here are the details (so you people can stop SMSing me to ask my results):

General Paper: A
English Literature: A
Chemistry: A
Mathematics: B
Biology: C

The grades are in the order that they appeared on the results slip, I wouldn't put them like this just for the sake of looking pretty.

My parents, good Asian parents as usual, nagged me about the unsightly C adorning my slip first of all, though my mother did say later she was proud of me. Damn straight my folks better be pleased, I worked goddamn hard to get this shit.

Like any good awards ceremony: *takes out cue cards* Thanks to my teachers for helping me get the results I got, my study buddies for the motivation to study and the good times we had, the school for the memories and not chasing us out at 10pm and to my parents for sending me to bloody Singapore in the first place. I couldn't have done it without you people (and probably wouldn't have wanted to either).

But now the real screwing begins. Y'see, my grades don't rule out Law (which is my father's dream for me) but they don't stand much of a chance either (which means more nagging and scolding about that evil C) so now, I'm being badgered, harrassed and rabbited to chase after different universities. So far, I have 20+ possible choices of courses and universities. Oh bugger.

The nightmare won't end until I get a place somewhere so wish me luck. *ties headband around forehead*

2009-03-04T00:29:00.001+08:00

Right.

Since I'm much more active on LiveJournal than my blog these days, just a quick note to say that blogging will become gradually infrequent.

But if you're looking for me online, I can be found on the LJ link on my blog or drop me a note on Facebook.

2009-02-27T10:12:00.000+08:00

After five years of living in Singapore, I think this here list is long overdue… presenting May Ching’s Top Ten List Of Pet Peeves!!!

1) People who rush through doors which others are holding open. This is not only unbecoming and undignified, but reflects badly on Singaporeans.

2) Obnoxious commuters who sit on the outer seat in the bus, leaving the inside seat empty. They always glare at you when you crawl over their legs to sit there and get out because they don’t want to MOVE their ass, as though it was YOUR fault that you wanted to squeeze in there.

3) Newspaper reporters who take whatever MM Lee said during a half-assed state function and turn it into front page news. He may be the greatest statesman and hero in Singapore history still among us but is there a need to broadcast his words of wisdom? (Stupid question. Of course there is.)

4) Singlish. Need I say more?

5) Singapore style Char Kuay Teow. Why, oh why is there the need to make it SWEET??!! We have dessert for that. Give me the Malaysian version anytime!

6) Bigoted, narrow-minded people who still can’t decide whether I’m Chinese or Malay. Open your minds, please. It helps.

7) The propaganda crap spewed in Social Studies textbooks. After a while, you do start to get tired of the miracle story of the ‘tiny nation with no natural resources’ who became the superpower it is today. I mean, truly impressive, I’m agog. Give it a rest already!

8) Youngsters who take life for granted and who are completely ignorant of things happening outside their little shell. Grumpy old cynic I may be (see above) but I know a good thing when I see one, and Singapore is one of those true modern havens in the world today (in all its clean, safe and tiny glory).

9) People who try and cut the queue. You might think it doesn’t happen in a civilized country like this, but you’ll be surprised. They’re everywhere: teenagers who missed too many CME classes (Civics and Moral Education for those too old to recall), adults who argue they’re in a hurry, older folks who just do it. (Nike is not involved.)

And… number 10 on the list… *drums*

10) People with a delayed sense of time. Seriously, every single time there’s an outing or meeting, official and unofficial, everybody (except idiotic me, who arrived 10 minutes early) is at least 5 minutes late. And it’s not even a problem unless you’re more than an hour late. O_o

Thank you for reading my grumbles (and thank you for not killing me if you recognize yourself on the list) and have a nice day.

2009-02-25T14:37:00.000+08:00

Your result for The Commonly Confused Words Test...

English Genius

You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 100% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go!

Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it!

For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

Take The Commonly Confused Words Test at HelloQuizzy

2009-02-23T17:31:00.003+08:00

Grarrhh.

Am completely furious, angry, mad, incensed, enraged, infuriated, wrathful... you name it.

My stupid sire called me (as usual) to complain about how dusty the house is and how he's still suffering from a sinus attack triggered by the place. He's been asking me to buy a folding bed and latex mattress and so on, so forth... the usual nagging.

Today, however, he got to the point he's been trying to make: he wants me to throw out all my books.

WTF??!!

I tried to defend my precious books but apparently this fellow doesn't get sarcasm. Or bulldozes his way right through. He told me that: "things come and go in life. we shouldn't cling on to things, we must learn to let go."

I valiantly tried to counter with more biting sarcasm but failed miserably as he refuses to take the bloody mickey. He actually thought I was genuinely ignorant of the fact that people do move on and I was asking for his philosophy.

20 minutes later, after sarcastically telling him I'd think about his words, the bugger took me seriously and let me throw the phone back onto its cradle. The idiot even SMSed me to 'bring his point home'!!!

Tried to vent my unhappiness on the piano but 'Victor's Piano Solo' simply CANNOT be played when you feel like strangling somebody. Sigh.

2009-02-22T16:00:00.004+08:00

Dramafest 2009 seriously rocked.

Apart from having my eyeballs burned out, of course.

It was a much bigger bash this year, since there are more Lit students. There were five student plays, compared to three during my time. The lecture theatre was so packed, people were squeezing themselves in the aisles, sitting on the steps, standing at the door.

I was late, thanks to Ratz not telling me when the whole thing started and missed the beginning and title of the first play. It was adapted from Great Expectations and revolved around Pip, Estella and Drummle. Plenty of AVA effects though, good stuff. But the acting was rather dry. The only star was Sangeetha as an abused yet defiant Estella.

The second play, Carrie's Lions, was put up by my campers, starring Sharon Quek as Carrie. It was supposed to be a ghost story of some sort, dealing with trauma. I heard that the script was written by Jalaine which might explain why it seemed oddly reminscient of last year's Requiem. Not bad, though, but it did suffer from some clichedness which is inevitable.

The third play (I forget the title) was a crack version of Romeo and Juliet. It was pure slapstick comedy, filled with lame jokes, parody humour and a wise-cracking narrator. The costuming was excellent, I heard they went well over budget. It was worth it, though, the actors all wore costumes one would expect to find in a real staging of Romeo and Juliet. I was kept laughing the whole time. Excellent stuff.

A scene from the play.

Next was a rhyming murder mystery from Ratz's class, an adaptation of Dr Seuss' Cat in the Hat. The entire play was in verse as the players attempted to solve the murder of the Cat in the Hat.

The person playing Dr Seuss was hilarious, a real stage presence. Her campyness perfectly played up the whole production. This also featured live piano playing and dancing. Unfortunately, the rhyming was mostly lost on the audience who were still fired up by the previous play.

Last came Justin Thyme, Great Detective. This play was really minimalist, with the barest amount of scene changes, what appeared to be one backstage crew member and the most creative usage of prop transition I've ever seen. It relied heavily on running gags but the Dracula was the main star, with his over-the-top Transylvania accent and broad gestures. Some parts were hilarious, if for the wrong reasons, like the crew girl spraying the hero with water from a spraybottle for 'thundering rain'.

The teacher's play was the real nightmare.

Starring Ng Sue Ling, Gabriel Lim, Joy Tan and Ravi Shankar, it was a 'newscaster' format play. Disturbing bits included Ng Sue Ling and Gabriel Lim cuddling while Shankar talked, ostentiously the 'special correspondent' away from the studio. Stuff like her leaning on his shoulder, stroking his cheek... the whole audience was hooting and whistling. They broke apart very dramatically when the 'camera' shifted back to them.

The play ended with them seizing each other in the throes of violent passion and disappearing behind the tables, sending clothes and shoes flying into the audience. Ng Sue Ling came out later to retrieve her shoes (and take a bow). I am honestly scarred for life.

The rest of the student body was more affected by Gabriel Lim's performance (obviously because they never had the pleasure of knowing Ng Sue Ling) and they noted that she was the one who kept grabbing him (something which I obviously don't want to know).

Results were soon out:
Best Actress: Sangeetha as Estella from the first play
Best Actor: Dracula (I forgot his name) from the Justin Thyme play
Best Play: The Romeo and Juliet crack

Choice quotes:
"Even though the males are bigger and stronger, it's the females who hunt and look after the pride. That's just nature, and you can't argue with nature." - Carrie from Carrie's Lions

[Romeo wants to sneak into the Capulets' party to find Roslinda while Mercutio tries to dissuade him]
Mercutio: You can't get in, you're a Montague. And Montagues aren't invited.
Romeo: That's okay. [Puts on a mask] How do I look?
Mercutio: Like... Zorro. Or Romeo wearing a mask.
Romeo: I can be Zorro.
Mercutio: Oh yeah? Where's your sword? And your horse? And your cape? And Catherine Zeta-Jones?

Romeo: Fair Roslinda [Juliet's maid], my love, will you marry me?
Roslinda: But I work for the Capulets...
Romeo: It matters not...
[Juliet walks in]
Romeo: [staring at her] Oh blimey.

Mercutio brings in Father John, who has a night mask over his eyes]
Romeo: Father John, please wed us. [Holds Juliet's hands]
Father John: Are you sure about this?
Romeo: Father, can't you see how much in love we are?
Father John: I can't see anything. [They wave their hands in front of his face]

Duke of Verona: Okay, what's going on here?
Lady Capulet: Romeo has killed Tybalt, my lord, to avenge his friend Mercutio.
Duke of Verona: Killed? Okay, that's it. [Takes out red card] Red card, get lost.

[Lady Montague comes across the scene]
Lady Montague: Romeo's been banished? It's that Mercutio's fault, leading him into all sorts of trouble. Where is that troublemaker?
[Nurse points to Mercutio's body]
Lady Montague: Oh... In that case, I'll go see where Romeo's banished himself off to.

2009-02-17T23:25:00.002+08:00

At last, a new blog skin!

I decided that the old one was kind of dark and dreary so for a change, something brighter. I am, however, very much a noob when it comes to this sort of thing (ie. scrolling through lines of text which makes up the blog template) so please excuse any weirdness in the layout. Soon, I'll get someone who actually knows what they're doing to go over it.

2009-02-16T14:16:00.002+08:00

My participation banner! :D

The first drabble competition I participated in (partially to test my writing skill, partially because forthrightly, the host, is the best banner maker in the Inuyasha fandom. :) And she's offering banners for all participants.

Good luck to all entries!

2009-02-12T12:10:00.002+08:00

I am such a procrastinator. I said I'd blog but as it turned out, I didn't. I'm hopeless.

Anyway, now that I've gotten over my angst... I shall now proceed to handle the shabby remains of the rest of my life.

Yesterday, I learned something I shouldn't have learned... and surprisingly, I'm not very disturbed. (Believe me, I'm already disturbed.) I should say that I wasn't shocked at all, I was kind of expecting it. The milder details can go up here:

I was supposed to have more brothers/sisters and half-brothers/half-sisters. Thank goodness for no children from that b***h, otherwise the rare mix of stupidity and ugliness would have been preserved in the gene pool. Add to that the fact that I found a jumbo pack of condoms in one of my parent's rooms. Half-opened.

No self-respecting child wants to know that their sire is... sexually active, to put this mildly. To put it in a completely immature way: Yeeucch.

My parents are still in that childish 'I'm not talking to you' stage, communicating solely through me. And yet, everytime he leaves, he leaves a pile of dirty laundry which my mum dutifully washes.

Me (holding up dirty shirt and shorts): What the **** is this!

Mum: Your father's laundry.

Me: Mum! You're not going to wash these, are you!

Mum (defensively): What? I've been doing it all this time, you haven't noticed?

Me: He treats you like dirt, cavorts with that *****, scolds you all the time, and you still do his laundry?! Let him drag it all the way back to KL and do it himself, that *****!

Mum: ... You mean she doesn't do it?

Me (aghast): Noooo... she doesn't even know how to turn the damn thing on. He does all the laundry in the house.

Mum: ... Oh. Never mind. (She takes the dirty laundry and washes it.)

Me: ... You set back feminism twenty years.

Goodness, what a jerk I have the misfortune to know. And no, my problems don't end there. Another cause of concern for me (nothing major, just niggling, I swear) is the lack of a social life. Even my mum has got a guy half her age. The disturbing thing here is not the age, but how my mum can be getting some when me and my perfectly normal sister are not.

Even my best friends back in KL are getting some. (Not counting two who are 'married' to each other.) Leaving me... the abnormality in our group. Not that I'm looking for some. It just doesn't seem normal, doesn't it?

If all else fails, maybe I should try playing for the same side. (Kidding!!!)

2009-02-09T15:03:00.002+08:00

I've been dropped from the senior facillitators.

Words cannot begin to express my anger. I mean, the level of incompetence demonstrated by the JJ leaders is already appalling (refer to my earlier blog posts/rants) but this is an all-time low.

Despite giving my name (twice) last year and last month, not only did the one senior fac meeting get cancelled (they forgot about us), I'm considered as not having given my name at all. How did I find out? Disturbed by a lack of any updates, I messaged Jean only to find that I was never registered and hence never a senior fac at all.

Apparently, the person in charge of this was changed and a brand new recruitment email sent out. I did receive this email, but thinking myself already in, I didn't answer it (and anyway I was overseas so by the time I read it, the deadline for reply had already passed).

Can you imagine how shocked I was to hear about this - stunning - development? I already know that the standard of JJ leadership is dropping alarmingly with each successive batch from the 26th downwards but this is astonishing, to say the least! I used to be proud to be a JJ leader, if not a JJ councillor and member of the 27th, but I'm starting to feel ashamed of being associated with such an incompetent system.

I'm not afraid to vent on this blog despite getting in trouble in 2007 with the 27th because of yet another screw-up on the part of the councillors (stories which I will not disclose here for the sake of my friendships with them). I also won't pretend that I am such an examplary character myself. But still, when my conflicts with the leaders started to accumulate, I got steadily disillusioned.

Suffice to say, I am deeply disgusted with the state of JJ leadership today, both as an ex-leader and as an outsider. People - clean your act up, or have no act left tp clean at all.

2009-01-22T15:13:00.003+08:00

Just a quick note. I might do a little rambling but that's a whole different story.

Now, I will be going back to Malaysia for Chinese New Year this Saturday and coming back in a week's time, so nobody come looking for me the whole of next week. I'll only be logging onto the Internet periodically which I think is a good thing, considering I've been plugged in practically the past month and a half.

What have I been up to? Nothing much, actually. Not that it would be that interesting. I went back to a deserted JJC (only J2s in that place) to meet up with a few juniors and wander around the place. It might sound a little crazy, but everywhere I went, I saw ghostly apparitions of the past. Not literally, but figuratively. I wouldn't expect anything less from the place I spent the most time in after home.

Happened to meet my favourite senior, Germaine outside the school and we had a nice chat. I still don't know what I'm going to do with the rest of my life, the only ambitions I have right now are either juvenile or not likely to happen for a good long time. I got to start growing up.

My first step was to rip all my posters off the walls in my room. Those of you who have been to my place know that the walls are covered in Harry Potter posters, some quite expensive. (Don't worry, I took them off nicely and even spent an hour cleaning the Blutack off the walls.) My mum has never been happier, commenting my room looks so nice and bright (the main theme used to be black). Anyway, I am nearly 20 so I should think it's time to start acting like an adult. Not to mention I am no longer that rabid over Harry Potter. Rowling kind of killed it for me with Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows. Am I going to buy Beedle the Bard? Don't make me laugh.

But I am a bit adrift. I spent 12 years of my life with Harry, from 1997 til now. I needed a new obsession... enter InuYasha. Oh joy.

I didn't mean to get hooked on InuYasha, it just so happened that Okto (the new television love of my life since Singapore free-to-air TV sucks big time)happened to run an InuYasha month-long special on Saturday nights. I got nothing better to do, since one can't study when my mum is busy in the room so I ended up watching the movies. They weren't so bad, so I went on Wiki to read up.

That's my excuse for entering the fandom so late. (If my mum had picked InuYasha off the shelf instead of Harry's first book, it could have been a different story.)

In any case, it's a good manga and anime for the supernatural elements and compelling storyline. Rumiko Takahashi knows how to write good romcom (romantic comedy).

I was seriously thinking of getting InuYasha stuff to fill my walls again... Screw this, maybe I should remain immature for the rest of my life.

Abayo!

2009-01-14T00:26:00.002+08:00

I feel so seriously fucked up.

I just had to get the urge to continue watching Six Feet Under from where I left off quite a few weeks ago. For those who don't know, this HBO drama is about a family who run a funeral home and they have a real time trying to deal with their fucked-up lives while they do their jobs surrounded by death.

I was initially attracted to the show because of all the death. Somebody dies every episode in a creative way. But 2 seasons later, the show focuses on the relationships between the main characters and the people around them. And they spend the whole time talking about their feelings, how messed up, unhappy, angry, sad and confused they feel. Oh, and there's plenty of sex, both het and homo, strong language, graphic gore and a dash of violence.

So I finished watching the finale for season 3 about 15 minutes earlier and one of the characters got killed off. Naturally, I feel sad for them. But I also watched this Korean movie on Okto on Saturday night called Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... And Spring Again, revolving around a monk and his master. That's all I could establish. The movie was fucking deep, with plenty of themes in it. Since it stars a monk, the themes should be Buddhist. So you got life and death, love and hate, anger and sadness, youth and age... all set against this floating temple in a valley with gorgeous natural scenery.

Both shows were ultimately depressing and made me think a lot. That is not good, not when I got too much to handle at this point of time in my life. I have issues, I won't deny it. But too much, too quickly and inevitably, you start to crack up. Like I am now, bloody going and blogging, the only sound in the goddamn house is the sound of the keyboard clacking.

In the past, I did talk to other people about my problems. It worked, but only for a while, and then they came back with a vengeance. Honestly, even as I type these words, I wonder why am I posting my whinging on cyberspace. It's not as though other people have problems and the entire weight of the world is on my shoulders. I mean, I'm a tough person. Even as I was dying inside, I'm proud to say that I sucked it in and kept up a happy face in public.

This has gone far enough. My life is seriously screwed up, even for a regular kid with issues. Heck, my life is like a fucking soap opera. And I hope I get to let the cracks show through a little. Maybe I could talk to somebody. But who can I talk to? I spent most of my time listening to other people's problems so I'd take my mind off my own and think, Hey, maybe my life's not that bad after all. Everybody got problems... Aw, screw this.

Ironically, life on the outside is going swimmingly: my writing is doing well, I got a job, I'm going to enrol in driving school, I'm going to go for Orientation soon... Don't it just suck?

2009-01-10T19:34:00.004+08:00

Post-birthday review:

Be careful what you wish for. Seriously.

I thought it was a good thing that JJ set a senior facillitator meeting on my birthday because I was dying to get out of the house and get busy. And of course, the universe heard me and made it worse. Soon, I had a badminton game and a tuition session lined up.

Let the games begin.

JJ forgot about the senior fac meeting, partially because they were already busy with the OGL camp and partially because so few of us turned up: there were only 5 orange shirts there instead of the projected 30. As though that wasn't bad enough, Priscilla, Brenda and I were kept waiting for the next 3 hours. (The meeting was at 9am and we left at around 1.30pm.)

We sloped around for most of the time then ended up at McDonald's. They sneaked out to buy me a birthday cake so I got my birthday cake after all. :) There was still some leftover cake so we went back to school to get rid of the rest of the cake (no place to carry it around on my super-packed day) and to check whether the school still wanted us.

Tommy and some other grand seniors were helping out with the wet games, setting up what looked like a massive maze. He obligingly had a piece of cake. Desmy was there too but she pretended not to notice anything. Anyway, it's like no big deal. I just told her we senior facs were going to bugger off due to lack of appreciation. The rest of the cake was disposed of with thanks to the junior OGLs (they were nice enough to sing me a birthday song despite the fact they have no idea who I am).

The cake!

I get to eat the special impaled strawberry.

I have attained enlightenment.

They pose with their handiwork.

Aftermath.

Shuffled off to Jurong Point to have lunch at Long John Silver. The portions are getting smaller and the price is still increasing. No wonder so many people are looking for jobs, otherwise they'd be too poor to eat. We unfortunate people waiting for A Level results are also forced to pay adult fare for public transport which is roughly double of what the concession fare was. Tragic times indeed.

Anyway, I had to dash off early to meet my secondary school friend at Serangoon (!) for a game of badminton. Turned out I wasn't the only invitee, there were a few others whom I didn't know. We had a great game, I haven't played badminton in yonks (squash doesn't count).

It took me an hour to get back to Bukit Batok from Serangoon and then rush rush off for the tuition session. Xue Xuan, who gave me the contact was off though: the student's English wasn't as good as she said it would be (far, far worse) and we all know how horrible my Mandarin is. So no go. I was fired before I could quit so that was the end of that.

Another tuition session today, this time with a student who speaks English. Not a bad session, though I would have wished for an older student with whom I can declaim the finer points of writing award-winning English essays.

So, in a twist of irony, the people's birthdays whom I celebrated last year did not celebrate mine. Happy nineteenth to me!

So, definitely the most exhausting birthday I have had.

2009-01-06T21:34:00.003+08:00

Today's unfortunate victim of my ire is the private medical sector of Singapore.

Recently, my cousin got admitted to Raffles Hospital at Bugis with a stomach complaint but she checked out yesterday night because of the astounding medical fee.

Since the place is a private hospital, it cost S$2,200 just for one night, and a scan. Well, if you pay this much for medical treatment, surely you expect stellar medical care. People actually come to Singapore for medical treatment.

But nooooo. Not only did the docs fail to cure my cousin (who just left for Malaysia today for better treatment), they couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. They just kept on giving her jabs. Throughout her one-night stay, only one doctor came to examine her (everything else was handled by nurses) and he didn't even try to diagnose her. Not even a question about what kind of pain was being experienced. Even an amateur like me whose medical knowledge consists of 3 seasons of Grey's Anatomy know the different likely causes of stomach pain like ulcers, wrenched gut, parasites, et cetera.

Surely it is quite obvious, even at this early stage, to see this is clearly sub-standard medical attention, the kind which one would expect to find in a Third World country government hospital with overworked nurses and indifferent doctors. But instead, this is happening right here in Singapore, folks.

It was in the papers some time ago that Singapore is attracting a growing number of 'medical tourists, people who come here to obtain treatment (which is advisable given Singapore keeps pulling all the luminaries of the medical world here). From what I've seen, this doesn't look like the outstanding healthcare which is so glorified.

Even with this level of care, the doctors were against my cousin's checking out because they wanted to keep her in for observation. My ass. They probably weren't making enough money from ordinary Singaporeans (curse Medisave!) so they need to bleed foreigners dry. The hospital looks luxurious enough. The lobby looked exactly like a hotel lobby, the only thing that gave it away was the large sign hanging overhead which read 'Raffles Hospital'. Ironically, as we left the place, there was a bevy of plaques on display at the reception given to the staff by grateful patients thanking the hospital for its 'excellent' and 'outstanding' care. Keh.

I would go on to what else we discussed but there's a saying about not airing one's dirty linen in public.

2009-01-04T20:25:00.002+08:00

Busy day today.

I finally finished a book about Japan: its history, culture and society. The part about religion was particularly interesting because it described the Japanese attitude as 'practical'.

I think the Shinto religion, the traditional religion of Japan is quite fascinating. For those who don't know, it's a simple animistic religion in which everything contains a deity. So in effect there is a whole host of gods and goddesses (kami) in the pantheon, which is headed by Ameratsu, the sun goddess.

Shintoism has no particular code, unlike today's other established religions like Christianity and Islam. In actual fact, modern followers combine Shinto worship with elements of Buddhism.

It appeals to me, especially with my personal philosophy, which can be summarised as follows:

If you want fate to come knocking on your door, you have to lay out the welcome mat first.

What this piece of doggerel means is that fate is both controlled by ourselves and determined by the mysterious machinations of the universe. Confusing? Not really. I really believe you yourself is responsible for how your life turns out but if the universe really has it out for you, well then, nothing can be done, you sad bastard.

Back to religion, I am an strong opponent of organized religion, which I think has departed from its roots. But I'm not entirely a godless heathen. I like animism, the spirit of everything. The carved bone fish hook (hei matau) I like to wear is actually part of Maori animism.

2008-12-31T19:02:00.004+08:00

Whooh, long time no update.

The main reason for this is because of the lack of things in my life which are blogworthy.

Anyway, went to watch 'Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging' with kak Radha the day before yesterday. We were actually supposed to watch 'Twilight' but eventually decided it was too cliched and picked this other movie. I think it was worth it, it was hilarious. Personally, I LOVE British accents and the sound of everybody speaking in gorgeous and sexy Brit accents was fantastic.

To cut a long story short, go watch it. If not for the plot, (which is kinda impossible towards the end), at least for the sex gods and the 'nunga nungas'.

Incidentally, the past few days have been quite my days for meeting people. On Sunday, I met up with ah ma Angela to disturb her at work. While there, I happened to meet my camper, Jiarong, who's now in NJ.

The next Monday, I went to the gym at Redhill with kak Radha (a mistake my muscles still regret) and guess who we saw there? Nerrine and Webster. Nerrine gave me a strange look, partially because we know each other (very slightly, I might add) and because I was working out in a gym (I think). They left before Radha and I did.

We dillydallied out of the place, dropping by Ikea for a hot dog and I managed to persuade her to go to Orchard for pasta. Which makes it two milestones! One, getting the both of us fat and getting Radha to go to Orchard without dressing up. (Of course, I wouldn't expect to live long after that.)

We saw them at the bus stop outside Queensway and we took the same bus there.

Once at Orchard, after a massive meal which surely must have replenished the calories we lost in the gym, decided to go to HMV to browse before going to watch the movie. It was a LONG walk (from Orchard MRT to Somerset MRT) but it was definitely worth it. I wanna go blow an inordinate amount of cash on impractical merchandise from that place. Bury me there, please, so my ghost can go on browsing FOREVER. MUAHAHAHAHAHA.

However, I sobered up on browsing in the Japanese music section. Did I mention that I bought an Inuyasha CD while in KL recently? It cost me RM20 (about S$8) and I thought it was quite reasonable. Well, I saw the exact same CD in HMV going for S$72. *faints* This is NOT a typo. An astronomical price is being charged for the same miserable CD.

Eventually, we got to Dhoby Ghaut MRT and Cathay. I met Kannan while buying tickets and he ended up watching the same movie as we did. (The fricking movie title is so long, I'm not going to bother typing it in.)

Much to my dismay, I saw Nerrine and Webster there too, browsing in one of the shops. The amazing thing was that they'd changed clothes, meaning they'd worn a different outfit each time we'd seen them. Intriguing or what?

Again, browsed happily in Gramophone. I seem to enjoy going to media shops rather than bookshops nowadays. Is it because I spend my days plugged in?

Got a proposition now though. My old man wants me to hurry back before the 5th of January to start writing lecture notes and begin the new term with more English lectures. Thankfully I got the senior facillitator call this morning or I wouldn't have an excuse to linger here in Singapore. If not, I would have ended up spending my birthday in a place where nobody cares.

Mind you, I don't even know whether it's a wise choice to want to spend my birthday here in Singapore. All the friends I made here, without exception, let me down in some way, big or small. I wasn't even supposed to be attached to the damn place, it was supposed to be a stopover on the way to pursuing my dreams.

Bloody sheesh, I hope next year's celebration is better than this one.

I will be staying in Singapore for Orientation, but I do wonder whether it is the right decision.

2008-12-15T15:16:00.002+08:00

I'm currently sitting in a cushy office in Malaysia, in the Flamingo Institute.

Teaching is fun. Teaching my class is not.

I'm teaching a Basic Intensive English course and trust me, basic English is not fun.

My students are all barely able to understand the language so I'm reduced to teaching the simplest of words, ideas and concepts.

Today's lesson was a mishmash of random things starting with Christmas and ending in a dialogue between a shopper and a salesperson. (Taking over the lesson from my old man.) It took me an hour to successfully convey the idea of 'synonyms' and 'antonyms' to them but I guess it's progress.

Moving on, I'd want to post a few photos but this office computer is kind of underequipped for serious uploading. Maybe later on.

For the first time in years, me and my sister took a plane to KL instead of bus. Flying is a great experience if you're flying SIA. It is downright unpleasant when you fly AirAsia.

At the bloody check-in, we were forced to dump all our water in the water bottles and my sister's bottle of moisturizer got thrown away. Apparently, you're not allowed to bring more than 100ml of liquids on board the plane. This is much to AirAsia's advantage, because you have to buy the drinks onboard and the inflight magazine urges you to drink plenty of water while flying because pumped in air is extremely dry. And yet, this guy toting Henessy VSOP and Remy Martin cognac happily carried his cargo onboard unmolested.

Justice was swift. When we landed, the bottles had cracked in the overhead compartment and by the time he realised what had happened halfway through customs, his luggage was soaked in alcohol and the whole customs hall stank of liquor. The look of anguish on the fellow's face was exquisite.

The flight was (thankfully) short and in almost no time, we were out. The woman gained lots of weight but oddly only on the upper body, giving her an uncanny resemblance to a gorilla. Her face is terribly puffy too, probably from the buildup of excess fats. In short, only a being the blind and the dead could stand.

I wasn't happy to learn that my mum's old car was being commandeered as a company car. The old man was pretty annoyed about my objections, saying it was better than having it rot in the basement. It's not that I object to it being used, it's that I object to it being used by her people. I used to like the Flamingo Institute when it didn't have her in it.

Ah well. I'm working here so can't afford to piss off the bosses. Even if they're my old man and his bulldog.

2008-12-12T22:31:00.002+08:00

ARRRGGH.

PAIN.

Stupid leg. I HATE skin wounds. I always get them and they're the worst of all wounds, I tell you. Flesh wounds just get covered by (lots and lots) of blood and then quickly form a scab so they don't hurt too much. Skin wounds, on the other hand, don't bleed as much as they ooze. Since the dermis gets separated from the epidermis, not much blood vessels are ruptured hence hardly any blood. Just loads of fluid. Which dries hard on the skin.

OUCH.

I gave up on bandages yesterday because it takes far too damn long to remove the stuck bandage from the leg. At least it isn't festering or turning septic or anything like that.

Had a lovely day alternately limping and hobbling around doing the housework. Things could have been worse.

Those who know me well will know that I have quite a few scars, testaments to stupidity. The large one on my right hand is the most obvious, souvenir from going down a badly paved large hill on a scooter. That took 3 months to stop hurting and another month to regain complete hand function. Don't even get me started on changing bandages. It was too serious to leave open and yet absolute agony to peel off th bandages daily. To this day, I have a faint checkered pattern on my skin from the medicated webbing where it pulled away my new skin.

There's another on my forehead which didn't leave such an obvious scar (because it was a deep gash, not a skin wound) and a stripe on my leg from cutting it open while rollerblading. That one I am quite proud of because it cut all the way through until I could see the bone and the layer of subcutaneous fat. Again, being primarily a flesh wound, not that much pain but hell of a time changing bandages.

And now I have this bloody leg (again).

Okay, I'm not being whiny here (I have quite the high pain threshold). Just kind of irritated by my own stupidity, you know what I mean.

Anyway, am also in a foul mood today because got lectured by my mum for no good reason. Espscially since I pottered around the house with a bad leg and STILL got told off. When my mum gets into these kind of moods, she'll make all sorts of false accusations that are SO obviously not true and I'll get even more defamed if I dare defend my honour.

WHAT THE CRAP. I still got to put up with this kind of shit because I haven't left home for university yet.

Adding to the mix is my perpetually annoying old man who keeps calling me everyday just to check up on me.

I stopped calling him my father some time ago and will never acknowledge him because of all the things he's done to me and my mum. He's just the old bastard who gave me his surname and continues to give me money for survival and education.

My mum and I don't always get along (it would be really creepy if we did) but I certainly don't hate her. She went through a lot of shit from the old man bringing me and my sister up. Not to mention we used (she would say we still are) a pair of godless heathen horrible children that ought to have been drowned in a bucket at birth. I'm kidding (hopefully).

But I can tell my mum loads of things other people wouldn't tell theirs. We talk about stuff other mothers and daughters would find disturbing, to say the least. Why, just the other day, me, Ms Tan, Abbie and Hui Shin were talking about parents over breakfast. I was most inordinately proud of my mum (despite recounting the beatings I used to receive).

In spite of my life being so miserable and pitiful and full of shit, I think I wouldn't exchange it for anyone else'.

2008-12-11T16:30:00.005+08:00

I finally got my hands on the computer.

And for all my efforts, am in a mass of pain.

Bloody fell down at the chalet. Just plain unlucky, I guess, breaking a record of 5 years without falling down. Hey, I know I'm accident-prone, so I obviously got to take care of myself.

Anyway, got a badly scraped knee and hand. It looks quite bad, but isn't actually that terrible.

The class chalet was really fun! Though we checked out early because there was so few of us. How sad. Miss Tan was quite disappointed partially because she booked a large chalet that can easily house 20++ and mainly because so few of us turned up.

But anway. We had a barbeque (I will never understand the obsession Singaporeans have for barbeques) and played the whole night before checking out the next afternoon.

The main room.

No comment. Really.

A really bad picture of Changi Hospital, opposite our chalet. If the stupid branch hadn't blocked it, the words 'Changi Hospital' would be visible.

Playing Twister.

Views of the beach...

Haven't screamed so much in ages. After the whole thing was over, we went to Popeye's in Changi Airport for a late lunch. Though really very expensive ($7.40 for a 2 piece chicken meal!!!) but I think it was worth it. As in to try the place. It really is a long way to travel if you live on the other end of the MRT Green line.

Almost didn't want to go because I was still traumatised by 'Super Size Me'. I already watched it in GP class but it is an excellent docudrama. Go watch it. You won't be able to eat McDonald's for 2 weeks.

Some pertinent facts you might be interested to know:
1) Out of 100 randomly selected US nutritionists, 95 think that fast food is not part of a healthy balanced diet.
2) None of 5 random 1st graders (6 years old) were able to identify Jesus (kind-faced man with long brown hair and beard surrounded by halo) but all knew Ronald McDonald.
3) The recipe for chicken McNuggets contains an 'anti-foaming agent'. They are composed of more than 70% corn derivatives.

I was thrilled to find that this show was being telecast by Okto. Seriously, I believe that Okto is the best thing to happen to Singapore television. Who wants to stay up late to watch an orchestral performance on Arts Central? (I did, once. It sucked.) And Okto shows all these great movies. Plus great anime movies. How do you think I got exposed to Inuyasha in the first place? (My mum said the anime used to show on Kids Central a few years ago at this ungodly time.)

The next night, a movie called 'Udon' played. It was delightfully quirky, with no real direction other than being a tribute to the wheat noodle dish, udon. Bascially, the story was about this failed comedian who returns in disgrace to his home in Sanuki, the 'udon province' of Japan. It has approximately 900 udon shops serving 1 million people, as compared to 500 McDonald's outlets serving the 15 million people of Tokyo. So he starts out to find all the shops and covering them in a magazine, starting a country-wide udon craze. The real charm, I believe, was the moving relationship between the prodigal son and the father he didn't really know. The saddest part was when the father died just before the son could apologise. Unfortunately, the movie was let down by the weak ending, in which he returns to New York to star in a movie entitled 'Captain Udon'. (!)

Huh. Looks like I'm not going anywhere, not with this leg of mine. I'm gonna rot happily at home. :)

2008-12-06T14:03:00.003+08:00

Ouch.

I am a mass of pain.

I went running yesterday butI was determined to be different. Ooh yes, instead of taking the nice, safe west Bukit Batok loop, I went north, towards Choa Chu Kang.

What a mistake.

After meandering around Bt Batok West, I cut off the main road after being leered at by a taxi driver and ended up outside Angela's house. Which is all the way at Bt Gombak.

However, one of my talents is a keen sense of direction (plus it's virtually inpossible to get lost in Singapore, it's so freaking small). I eventually reached home after a grand tour of Bt Gombak MRT, Hillgrove Sec, Lianhua Pri and Little Guilin.

After that, just enough time to get to Jurong East MRT for dinner date. Bloody Cherie and Priscilla last-minute bailed on me and Glennda. That's the last time I ever invite them out.

After eating, Glennda and I walked from IMM to JJ just for the heck of it. Took us an hour of solid walking. Which of course means plenty of exertion adding on to my run.

Which brings us back to the beginning of this post in which I am a mass of pain.

Anyway, this morning was not wasted. I cleaned the whole house and (finally!) shoved all my JC things into one dark corner of the house.

To be hauled out again when I pass some stuff to kak Radha.

Oh me.

2008-12-05T00:27:00.003+08:00

Goodness me.

I have been thoroughly domesticated.

I seriously need to spend more time outside of these four walls called my house.

On the plus side, being confined with my sister practically 24/7 isn't that bad. We practically co-exist in relative harmony.

Went to Kinokuniya yesterday to check out what has been going on in the real world while I was closeted in with books and notes. Starting with Kino is never a good idea, especially if you're the vicarious reader I am. Luckily I already went to Borders the other day.

Immediately, I was spoilt for choice by the multitude of books. If there is a heaven, I think it would be all the Kino and Borders outlets merged into one free browsing section for me to spend all eternity.

Some of the more interesting sights was this origami book which allowed you to make pop-up models of the world's famous buildings like the Colosseum, Big Ben and the Parthenon. Awfully fascinating, and the price was very reasonable, about $20.

The book which made my blood boil was one written by none other than Melissa Anelli, webmistress of the Leaky Cauldron. Now, as all those Harry/Hermione shippers worth their pumpkin pie out there know, she and Emerson Spartz, webmaster of MuggleNet were granted a now infamous exclusive interview with J.K. Rowling. Spartz derided Harry/Hermione shippers as 'delusional', a sentiment sadly echoed by Rowling. Of course, this...travesty in mind, I had to check out what Anelli had to say about the whole thing.

Surprise, surprise, she was evasive about the whole thing, saying Ron/Hermione shippers were delighted to be right. GOODNESS ME. Ron is clearly an idiot whose funtion seems to be nothing but comic relief and somebody else Harry can rely on. In a similar vein, Ginny Weasley exists merely as Harry's soulmate. Ugh.

Ah well. Everybody's entitled to an opinion. Anelli's, however, seems to be worth something. I'm glad Spartz doesn't come out with a book of his own. That would certainly take the cake. That fellow most charmingly created a 'Wall Of Shame' dedicated to angry Harry/Hermione shippers. If you ask me, such a slanted opinion cannot claim to represent the Harry Potter community as Spartz does.

Yes, kind of obvious I am a Ron-basher.

On a more shocking note, do you know that the average manga volume in English published by Viz Media costs S$20? The same volume in Mandarin costs (howls of indignation) S$5. Simply mind-boggling! Discrimination most foul!

Since I am still practically Mandarin-illiterate, looks like I have to either give up my manga habit or get a job to finance it.

Once I can bring myself to leave the house, that is.

2008-12-03T10:55:00.003+08:00

Now prom is over and done with.

I'm not going to decorate this blog with any garish photos, the truly vicarious can go look at other people's Facebook accounts.

Well, I guess it wasn't as bad as the last time. Some things never change, though. Insane emcees, overhype, shrieking people, unrecognisable people, the sheer amount of photographs taken...

More interesting news: got a new handphone. Muahahahaha.

Anyway, been alone a lot these days since 'A' Levels ended which is good. Plenty of time to do whatever I want.

2008-11-27T13:10:00.003+08:00

Okay. My life, as of one week after A Levels, is officially boring.

Not only did my handphone get stolen, but I am so freaking... domestic.

And shopping for prom sucks.

Those that do know me, I am tall (and fat), therefore in Singapore context I am BIG and it's not easy for me to get something that fits. The sizes here must run from Fairy to Midget to Malnourished African Child to Twiggy to 12-Year-Old Child, just that they label them XS, S, M, L and XL just to appear non-discriminatory to horizontally-challenged people.

I am never ever going for any more formal events out of my own free will! Never! I'll be dragged kicking and screaming (wearing acceptable attire, natch) to the next formal dress do I go in my life. I believe some people aren't meant to dress up. (Like Joe Gargery.)

I shouldn't have bought a ticket in the first place! Come to think of it, I wasn't intending to go, just that I changed my mind later on. Whoever talked me into it ought to go into Debate.

Anyway, rambling doesn't help. My little sis suggested a strict carb deprivation all the way up 'til Monday but I don't see how that'll help. I mean, if there really was a way to lose 10 kg in 5 days, the creators will be millionaires.

Still, can't say I've been idling. Ha! I cook, clean and do a mean load of laundry (as long as it's not Underwear Day.) I draw, write, run, read, play squash and laze around the house, sleeping at odd hours of the day. So much for being really busy with social outings when A Levels end, neh? There's just so much other stuff to do... as long as it doesn't involve actual work.

I haven't got around to getting a job yet. Maybe I should work overseas? My parents have (sadly) informed me that my plans to go backpacking around New Zealand are not feasible without a friend (or friends) to go with. Feh. So looks like I gotta work if I ever want to get out and about.

Hmmm... or maybe I enjoy loafing and reading endless stacks of manga.

2008-11-25T17:18:00.003+08:00

People: do not contact me at this number anymore: 98640626

My handphone just got stolen while I was at Jurong Regional library this afternoon. Imagine? I just go to the shelves and return 5 minutes later to find myself handphone-less. Just goes to show that the economical crisis is worse than we expected when battered old handphones go missing in a blink of an eye.

What's worse, I just attached a new keychain to my phone only last night...sob sob, a brand new Mos Burger chicken katsu which I picked up from the Anime Festival last Saturday...it cost me $3... *weeps*

****ing handphone thieves! They're really fast, my SIM card has already been removed and (probably) consigned to the bottom of some dustbin.

Oh shit, I just remembered that I topped up my phone with $100 a few days ago... The situation just gets better, doesn't it?

2008-11-21T22:45:00.002+08:00

Now A Levels are officially over, I can happily and shamelessly indulge in computer marathons.

Anyway, (not) surprisingly, my social schedule seems underpacked, a far cry from the estimation predicted, say, a few months ago. Ironically it turns out I spend more time with people before exams than after them, in spite of the many plans made for 'after A Levels'. Feh.

Not to be whiny or anything, not that I'm complaining. I have suddenly so much time to waste. I can do whatever I want without a care. Major exams are finally over.

Let the sweating and worrying begin next year, around results time. Yikes.

Most surprisingly, I'm not yet on the way to becoming a drooling vegetable transfixed to the glowing computer screen (as darkly predicted by my mum) because I have to compete with my sister for the computer. (Kidding.) I've watched enough anime to make anybody's eyes pop! Plus, not satisfied with merely watching the anime, I actually go and read up on the history and trivia. EXAMPLE, Inuyasha. Since the whole thing's set in the feudal era of Japan, the Sengoku Jidai, I have to read up the history of the time. AND know details of life during those times. AND pick up handfuls of Japanese terms like hakama and shikon and kotsu... *continues rambling*

Anyway. Yes. How embarrassing. Rambling about Japanese clothes. Well, the mind is going to continue unraveling and deevolving. Now that I don't have school to bitch about, looks like the substance of this blog is going to be a bit more mundane.

2008-11-18T18:40:00.003+08:00

And after the silence, there was light...

I'm finally back after a long hiatus. Bruised, broken but alive. In the end, it's the survivor spirit that counts.

New start, new name. I happened to stumble on this Japanese name generator and gave it a go. Apparently, you type in your name and the engine picks a given name and surname based on your name (I don't know what criteria). So I punched in my name and boom, got a new one: Yumi Michiyo. Yumi means 'archery' and Michiyo means 'three thousand generations', loosely translated. I quite like it, so I think I'll be using it. Of course, this doesn't mean that the Retrovirus is dead and buried.

It's strange to be even blogging after so long a gap. Technically, I haven't even finished all the papers yet. As I write, there is still a Bio multiple choice paper on Thursday the 20th. Other people have already finished, curse Cambridge-SEAB for prolonging our suffering.

Regardless, I still enjoy myself, me and my laptop. After watching a couple of Inuyasha movies on Okto (cursed things ran during the exam period), I got hooked on the anime (although I still have a general disdain for pointless anime). Personally, I always felt that manga is a terrible waste of money. I still do, because one volume costs quite a sum and they seem to go on forever... Take Inuyasha, for example. The manga was started November 1996 and concluded... June 2008 with 558 chapters. *crashes to the floor*

It's almost thankful that I started with the anime, which stands at a less hefty 167 episodes but (sadly!) remains uncompleted. But I'm not complaining. I've always loved Japanese history. Takashi Matsuoka and Laura Joh Rowland are two of my favourite authors of historical fiction. Yes, while historical fiction is the genre of books I am maddest about, I have a fondness for Japanese historical fiction. To find an anime which is actually set in the Sengoku Jidai period of Japanese history and weaved in with occult and spiritual overtones is really great.

My interest in Inuyasha is also important in terms of (relation)shipping. I think not many readers of this blog know it (I have a habit of keeping my life neatly compartmentalized) but I am a hardcore shipper and have been for more than 3 years. I am also an active fanfiction writer for the Harry Potter fandom. If you're still curious to know what it's all about, Wikipedia has an excellent article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shipping_(fandom)

Anyway, I'm quite a fan of Sango/Miroku (those who have no idea what I'm talking about, either go and Google it or read someone else's blog. Thank you for your time.). It was actually confirmed in canon by Rumiko Takahashi-sensei, quite unlike the unhappy fate of Harry/Hermione shippers (like me), who were cruelly denounced by J.K. Rowling as 'delusional'. Sigh. Not wise to blow off fans, in my opinion, particularly when you're counting on them to fund the Harry Potter empire of books, movies and merchandise. *grits teeth*

Sigh. Notwithstanding, shipping is still an enjoyable hobby (maybe even way of life).

Coming back to the real world (with a thump), I'm in a spot of trouble now. My class chalet and squash chalet happen to be at almost the same time so now I've gotta pick which one to go. And now I shall go into a quiet corner to resolve this dilemma.

2008-08-23T15:09:00.002+08:00

Wow, this blog has been dead for such a long time.

Anyway, I'm going to be away THANKS TO THE EVIL OF 'A' LEVELS so prolly not going to update in yonks after this.

3 more Prelim papers to go! *screams*

With much thanks to those who have been helping me cope since the last post like Ms Tan and Hikari... :)

Gad, damn stressful times now. Being distracted by Beijing Olympics so does not help AT ALL.

But hey, I'm still alive.

2008-07-23T20:18:00.002+08:00

Okay. This blog post is going to be quite different from my usual posts.

Hai, we finally resolved it today, although I feel like we might as well have not talked at all. I really wanted to say more, but I saw your face and decided it was not worth it.

I feel like one of those bloody funnels in Application of Differentiation questions, where the water is running out at a certain rate. But I'm totally empty inside, I don't know what I'm going to do now (but actually it's quite obvious).

I should stop being emo here on this blog, it's already quite black and gloomy enough without me having to add more unhappy words to it.

But before I stop, I want to do a partial 'merlion'. Delicate readers not used to gutter language should skip down the page.

Right now, I feel fucking angry and confused. I've never had anyone fuck with me like this before and I don't want to have it happen again. What the fuck are you trying to do? Until now, I think the logic is flawed.

You know what? I don't care anymore who reads this. Once it's posted on the Internet, it becomes public domain and the writer has to be prepared to stand by their words.

I am an emotional person. Therefore, I am entitled to a violent, one-sided opinion like this. I am only expressing my feelings now that I no longer care. Does that make sense?

Anyway, if you won't like what I've written here, you'll know about it sooner or later. Someone will certainly keep you fucking updated on how I'm feeling.

I am trapped within a web of my own making. This is all my fault. (And you agree.) A waste of time, a waste of effort, even a fucking waste of money. All for what? To have dirt in my face. And me being so fucking irrational and all. People have committed suicide for less because you see, people like me, it all goes straight to the heart, it overloads and they choose death as the fucking easy way out.

I refuse to resort to such desperate methods, man. Seriously. There are better things in life than this fucked-up crap.

So, I'll live. And I'll channel it all into my studies. And hopefully, I'll do well and close this chapter of my life for good. I can pretend it never happened, I can twist the details, I can do what I fucking want with it. Because I'll be fucking numb by then.

Ah, what am I saying? I'm wasting more time and effort again. Suan lah.

This is so freaking fucked up.

Well. Abrupt change of topic and mood here. Anyway, I was really depressed afterwards despite everything and went off to be emo. (My Angel, wherever you are, that's your cue for action. :))

Thanks so much, Max, for cheering me up with a grass jelly drink and your funny stories. :) You really cheered me up. I swear, I haven't been that happy in weeks.

Later on, crapped some more with Radha, Pui Yeng and Sing Suen. 08S05 is really a fun class.

We've started the Angel and Mortal game in my class. So far, Hui Shin's and Desmy's angels have sent them letters. I hope Jonathan's not my angel, sekali everybody receives something from their angels except me. :) Maybe Max's my angel. But he's already my lao gong so not much difference anyway. :D

Ran 2.4km today after school with Glennda. Freaking 18 min timing, I'm damn unfit and (dare I say) FAT. But the pain felt good. At the very least I can convince myself that I'm losing lipids.

Wah sian. I'm boring myself now.

2008-07-19T22:17:00.001+08:00

Independent Thinker (IT)

Independent Thinkers are analytical and witty persons. They are normally self-confident and do not let themselves get worked up by conflicts and criticism. They are very much aware of their own strengths and have no doubts about their abilities. People of this personality type are often very successful in their career as they have both competence and purposefulness. Independent Thinkers are excellent strategists; logic, systematics and theoretical considerations are their world. They are eager for knowledge and always endeavour to expand and perfect their knowledge in any area which is interesting for them. Abstract thinking comes naturally to them; scientists and computer specialists are often of this type.

Independent Thinkers are specialists in their area. The development of their ideas and visions is important to them; they love being as flexible as possible and, ideally, of being able to work alone because they often find it a strain having to make their complex trains of thought understandable to other people. Independent Thinkers cannot stand routine. Once they consider an idea to be good it is difficult to make them give it up; they pursue the implementation of that idea obstinately and persistently, also in the face of external opposition.

Independent Thinkers are not the type who easily comes out of his shell. Speaking about their emotional life is also not one of their strong points. Anyway, social relationships are not particularly important to them; they are happy with just a few, close friends who find it easy to share their intellectual world. They find it difficult to establish new ties. In love, they need a lot of space and independence but this does not mean that their partner is not important to them. Independent Thinkers often make a cool and reserved impression on others; but this impression is deceptive: they can hardly bear it if people close to them should reject them. They prefer a harmonious, balanced relationship with a partner who shares their interests and with whom they can realise their visions.

Adjectives which describe your type
introverted, theoretical, logical, planning, rational, independent, intellectual, self-confident, analytical, structured, dogged, witty, resolute, self-critical, visionary, inventive, independent, unsociable, reserved, nonconformist, quiet, visionary, honest, demanding, hardworking

These subjects could interest you
art, jazz, classical music, science fiction, computer, drawing/painting, spiritual matters, meditation, handicraft, writing, strategic games, politics

2008-07-18T22:41:00.002+08:00

Mwahaha. I'm back.

I decided not to care about what's going on in my life right now. It's not like I'm totally alone in the world, ya?

I should do as Mr Leow says and "be more like Jonathan." Haha, except for the hand gesture and the "WTF" and the "dots" and the "f***" (Generally I do not swear, but there are exceptions, of course.)

Maths mock prelim... didn't suck that much. Surprisingly not that diabolical, though some parts are really... truly devil spawn.

Oh, and thanks man... for proving, once and for all, everybody was right and I was wrong. Thanks for wasting my time and efforts. And thanks for being the most 'supportive' friend I ever knew. I never heard of someone turning 180 degrees until I met you. Surprisingly, there aren't really much that memories that I'll treasure. So this is it, I guess. The inglorious and untimely end to something which was so promising. If only you knew what they were saying behind your back.

Right, back to regular emo blogging.

Common test really sucked. ARGH. At this rate, I am seriously seriously worried for actual 'A's. I mean, there are bloody geniuses who are scoring practically full marks for everything since J1, which seems impossible.

I am DOOMED. *cue ominous thunder and lightning crackles*

And not to mention it's terribly demoralising to fail (yet again) subject after subject. I'm spiralling into panic and some people can still laugh and chit-chat and not study. Wow, I can't imagine what goes on in those little minds of yours. Oh, laugh and deceive yourselves while you still can. I'll so my best to be the one having the last laugh.

Beautiful Mess - Jason Mraz

You've got the best of both worlds
You're the kind of girl who can take down a man,
And lift him back up again
You are strong but you're needy,
Humble but you're greedy
Based on your body language,
your shouted cursive I've been reading
You're style is quite selective,
though your mind is rather reckless
Well I guess it just suggests
that this is just what happiness is

Hey, what a beautiful mess this is
It's like picking up trash in dresses

Well it kind of hurts when the kind of words you write
Kind of turn themselves into knives
And don't mind my nerve you can call it fiction
'Cause I like being submerged in your contradictions dear
'Cause here we are, here we are

Although you were biased I love your advice
Your comebacks they're quick
And probably have to do with your insecurities
There's no shame in being crazy,
Depending on how you take these
Words that paraphrasing this relationship we're staging

And it's a beautiful mess, yes it is
It's like, we are picking up trash in dresses

Well it kind of hurts when the kind of words you say
Kind of turn themselves into blades
And the kind and courteous is a life I've heard
But it's nice to say that we played in the dirt
Cause here, here we are, Here we are
Here we are [x7]

This is a good song, not as highly touted as 'I'm Yours' but still pretty darn good. Jason Mraz writes poetry to music.

I need the strength to hold on, make it through the year alive and in one piece. You and everyone else are merely one thorn in my Durian of Discontent. (I really like this phrase, for some reason.)

2008-07-13T19:31:00.002+08:00

I have decided to come out of exile.

The past week has been a week of self-imposed exile, caused by extenuating circumstances and my subsequent response to them.

They have not yet been resolved. The only reason I am ending my exile is very simple: because nobody cares.

Honestly, what was I thinking? That a true friend would come and break me out the shell?

Grow up. The world is a cruel place.

All I want to do now is graduate and go.

2008-06-29T22:19:00.002+08:00

The Takedown - Yellowcard (Paper Walls)

I feel things changing when I move
It’s a distance, its a difference
Across this planet without you
And you might call this a downfall
It's one long night that I’m passing through
It's a dark one what have I done
It’s one long night

Don't turn your back on me now
You can't do this
So don't say you can live without
You can't do this alone
How did I end up like this the lonely one
Your greatest takedown
You take me down

Left last night with a long goodbye
With some red wine through a phone line
Told you thoughts that multiply
That I don't know how to let go
We've been here many times before
I am empty when you leave me
What's one more

Don't turn your back on me now
You can't do this
So don't say you can live without
You can't do this alone
How did I end up like this the broken one
Your greatest takedown
You take me down

I won't get by I won't heal in time
I won't get by

Don't turn your back on me now
You can't do this
So don't say you can live without
You can't do this alone
How did I end up like this the chosen one
Your greatest takedown
You take me down

I love Yellowcard. The music is good and the lyrics are meaningful.

2008-06-27T23:11:00.002+08:00

Common tests were an unqualified disaster, natch.

Somebody *significant glance* needs to mug more.

Bio was bad, Maths stank, and Chem was a COMPLETE GONE CASE!!! Arghhhhh!

I don't think anything's wrong with my method of study. I just need more 'absorbancy' time. Writing doesn't help much, so it's back to the old drawing board.

Been going out a lot this week while I still can *guilty look* Only 7 weeks more to Prelims! *hair stands on end* Okay, I really need to go study now. When you're taking 'A' Levels, who needs horror movies? Resident Evil has nothing on the pure fear and tension brought on by this dastardly device of torture.

I failed Maths (again) but not that bad. Stupid GC hates me, keeps giving me wrong rref values. I would have already gone out and drowned the wretched thing, if not for the fact I'll need it for upcoming Maths exams and not to mention that GCs cost a whole bundle.

I saw Sijia today. Who was it who told me she went to CJ when she actually went to SA??? So happened that I chatted with some of my other campers (about Maths, duh) the day before. It's my week to meet up with J1s.

Going studying tomorrow with kakak Radha. Looks like I'll be spending the weekend doing my two favourite hobbies, sleeping and studying (!).

Luckily to break the monotony, there's a Pre-U Sem outing coming up next week! :D There is still hope for my terminally ill post-school social life, after all.

My poor neglected blog, I'll be back in a few days or so.

2008-06-22T01:33:00.004+08:00

Emo is the new black.

I'm supposed to be holed up in the room, studying Chem and Bio but instead I'm busy blogging.

Is this normal?

I haven't got the mood to study and absorb nowadays. I hope I ain't burnt out yet. It's far too early to be apathetic towards studies.

Experiencing night after night of strange and disturbing dreams. What do they mean?

While on one hand I can't wait for school to start, I wonder how am I going to handle it. Common tests are one thing. Things have changed in terms of people. What will I do? What will I not do? What if I totally disregard everything?

So many questions, so little answers. No time to even look for them, as we steadily march onward to a grim future buried in books and notes.

What can a retrovirus do?

2008-06-21T11:55:00.004+08:00

Maths Block Test II is over.

But the wretched Common Test is yet to come. One more weekend before the pain comes.

Bring it on.

As usual, I pray hard for a pass for Maths.

After the trauma of Maths, Muggers (plus Ah Ma) went to Pizza Hut for lunch. Jurong Point was simply swarming with JJ students, disgruntled J2s drowning their sorrows in food.

I ordered spag bol and everyone was waiting with bated breath to watch me make Cheese Mountain. Haha, sorry to disappoint. For a girl, there is only so many opportunities with which to disregard calorie intake. :)

Us. The pic's a bit dark, cos we were sitting all the way at the back.

After which we adjourned to Popular, and everybody left from there except me and Cherie. So we went shopping (or rather, window shopping). After the grown-up dignified shopping, we went to Toys'R'Us!!! :D

Playing in Toys'R'Us is always fun, especially for deprived childhood people.

Cherie and the LAMBCHOP. MUAHAHAHA.

I bought something! Well, two somethings. :) Frittering away my allowance never was this fun. Now my house key has Stitch's head on it :). Japanese Disney products are so darn adorable. And I have a model of the human skull with which to adorn my table. Cherie bought her lambCHOP, the stuffed animal which is a Mushabelly. It makes this weird farting noise when you squeeze its tummy. Great way to practise the Heimlich maneuver.

Sigh. After all that slacking, back to Chem and Bio mugging.

2008-06-15T20:54:00.004+08:00

Today is Father's Day.

But I don't give a nut, to use a nicer word. Some of you will know why.

Went Jurong West library to study. Found a copy of 'Fall of Kings' there, the final installment of a trilogy I've been avidly following. ARGH. If only I could have just found it before going to Penang, 'cos I bought myself a copy of the book there. DARN.

Coincidentally, met Ying Ming there. We later went to 7-11 to buy beer. :) The joys of being 18. (Only kidding, it was a gift. I am a strict teetotaller whose sole vice is the occasional shandy.)

Addiction is painful, but the more painful thing is abstinence. I used to be hooked on SimFarm, that old farm simulation game of the 90s. (The entire thing only takes up less than 10MB.) I had to be weaned off the game when I moved to NZ and was forced to give away the entire library of computer games to my cousins. Recently, I obtained a copy of the game and I am hooked AGAIN despite a little, insignificant thing called 'A' LEVELS which is hanging over me. As of now, the game is safely locked under password protection (a tip I picked up from Pre U Sem) and the password is only obtainable once I solve a puzzle.

My mum is so funny, when she says the weirdest things. Like the other day there was a monster lizard in the house. When she yelled for me to kill it, I went to get my phone instead because it was so big. :O

When I snapped this photo, she shrieked, "I asked you to kill it, not make it a film star!" 0.0

Anyway, the lizard got away despite me brandishing a laundry pole. Another day for the hunt, then...

The above is high-protein porridge. >:) While we were overseas, rice weevils infested the rice and pasta. I took especial pleasure in tossing them into hot water when we decided instead to just pour all the affected grains into the boiling water. Result: enriched porridge! :) Yummy.

My dinner tonight (a bun from Breadtalk) was infested with ants. They'd got stuck in the egg cream and drowned. Lovely. Instead of throwing the whole things away (like a normal person) or picking out the ants (like a sane person), I ate the whole, protein-enriched bun. It wasn't bad, though the ants have a rather weird, acidic taste.

2008-06-12T17:06:00.002+08:00

Just to confirm I'm not dead yet.

Though I feel like I am.

Very busy doing housework and homework all day, saving the house from the evil spirits of dust, grime and filth. Move over, Filipino maids! :)

But the place is still quite gross. Despite me working my fingers to the bone. Ungrateful.

Realized that I am definitely out of practice doing laundry. Shall have to cope somehow.

I haven't finished my Malaysia shopping list.

Now very fat thanks to Malaysian food. Ugh. I need to go school tomorrow to run and study. I miss school! :)

After I organized all my notes and tutorials, there's still a lot more to go before I can be considered prepared for Common Test. Just don't let me fail anymore. Under a damn lot of stress now.

I witnessed an attempt at evangelical healing the other day and immediately took refuge in the room. Not my cup of tea, to put it in a more tactful manner.

Currently addicted to Virtual Villagers now. Micromanagement never was this cool.

I'm going to take my driver's license test after 'A' Levels. But it's pretty much redundant in Singapore unless you've a matching brand-new set of wheels to go with it. And it's freaking expensive and troublesome to get a car here. Ah well. Good thing public transport's so efficient unlike its Malaysian counterparts. I know of no other system where one gets pickpocketed twice in one MRT ride the distance of approximately Boon Lay to Jurong East.

The PCR workshop looked like a lot of fun. I wish I went. Just such a pity that life works that way.

Super disjointed post because I'm hungry, tired and emo. Got a big, big black cloud labelled EMO floating above my head in permanent residence.

Oh, cheer up. Go read Bio.

2008-06-07T11:59:00.000+08:00

I'm no longer in my comfy house in Singapore now.

In fact, I'm being harrassed by a crazy, toe-munching dog in my grandma's house in Penang, Malaysia.

Long story.

The overnight bus left yesterday evening from Golden Mile and I SWEAR I SAW PUI YENG there.

The guy in front of me was horrible, he kept playing Paramore with my legs. Since the seats can recline allllll the way, the seat came down, right on my crossed legs. And when it met resistance, he actually bounced the seat on my knees until I put down my bruised legs. So literally Paramore, 'Crushcrushcrush'. And this happened quite a few times, except later on it was more 'Crush' instead of 'Crushcrushcrush' because I'd flatten my legs sharpish once the dreaded seat came down again.

While having to deal with the horrors of Paramore Man, there was the annoying matter of having cold water of condensation dripping on me the whole night. Apparently, there was something wrong with the aircon unit, causing it to be cold enough for condensation to form on the plate. Man, I was thankful it was just that. I woke up and thought the big wet patch on my jacket was drool. (Don't laugh, it could happen to you too.)

Journey aside, I love coming back to Penang. I've been coming back practically every year since before I can remember and that's good. In my life full of changes, at least one thing stays the same.

The food is always a perk. Let me reiterate how much Singaporean food differs from Malaysian food. And no prize for guessing which I think is superior. :) Especially my grandma's homecooked goodies. :)))))

My uncle got a dog! A Shih Tzu which is so darn cute!!! Until my mum mentioned that it enjoyed chewing on people's toes (!) But I don't care. I love animals because:
1) they have no social rules. They do as they please, ettiquette be damned!
2) they are so darn CUTE! (As far as I know, cute humans, especially guys, are hard to find.)
3) what they want is terribly obvious from the look on their faces.
4) they are easy to care for. (Anyone who has been a PA will agree with me here.)
5) they're always there for you, no matter what you've done. (you think Mas Selamat has any human friends with him now?)

Besides the point, I found this book by John Langdon, an artist who specialises in doing ambigrams, or words and phrases which read the same upside down and right way up. Here's some of his work:

The word on top is 'Black' and below is 'White'.

Truth and beauty.

A quote from Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven',

Choice.

Right now, the dog's off me and chasing after tidbits. Greedy girl. I got my little cousin to take photos of her for this blog and so.

Happy (the dog's name) and my grandma. My uncle's in the background.

So darn cute.

Okay, any more pics and I'll bore you to death. Since this post is lovely and long, probably be updating a few days later.

2008-06-01T13:57:00.007+08:00

I am back, people. MUAHAHAHA. Whether you missed me or not remains to be seen. *stares ominously*

Pre-U Sem was a real BLAST. I thought it wouldn't be that fun because first of all, none of my JJ friends were going, second, majority of participants are J1s (which makes me feel OLD.)

But it was really really fun! :)

I was in seminar group 10. All the seminar groups are sorted so there is only one person from each pre-university institution in each group. There are a total of 23 people in my my group, out of the 26 participating schools. But man, we had fun.

Posing on the NTU School of Arts (which has a roof of grass)

And again...

Sandeep (my SLO)'s going crazy!

And yet again...

Finally satisfied with camwhoring on the roof!

We love to pose for photos!

Check out my blazer!

JJC forever! Lol

Who's taking who's picture.

Instead of paying attention to the presenting school, we do this.

Making use of the mirror to carry on a family tradition.

I never met such a crazy bunch of people in my life. And put together, we absolutely loved camwhoring. We took approximately 1000+ photos in the 5 days, thanks to the cameramen 'Flasher' Yi'en and Prab. :D And as usual, I always look unglam. I must be the most unlucky person in the history of camwhoring: I look unglam in posed shots and SUPER unglam in candid shots. And it didn't help that many of the shots taken were candid. *sighs then recovers quickly*

I remember on the first day or something like that, the teacher doing the briefing told us to be on our best behaviour because we were the "ambassadors of our respective institutions". I hope I represented JJC well enough *fingers crossed* . I taught the seminar group how to play 'Japanese Whisper' and as a result, my SLO Sandeep is highly important (she's America's Next Top Model and holds the secret of Mas Selamat's whereabouts).

So what have I learned? For one thing, court shoes are murder. The councillors complain about wearing them. HAH. I was lucky. Since mine are expensive, I got away with one minor blister after stuffing them with socks and tissue. Some of the others weren't so lucky, sustaining nasty red-raw blisters. Oh, the agony of tramping around the NTU campus with a horrible pair of hobblers. Guys get off easy. Reminds me of a quote from She's The Man:

Viola (Amanda Bynes) [on the phone with her mother]: No, I will not wear heels. Everyone knows they're men's inventions designed to make a woman's butt look smaller. And to stop her from running away.

Anyway, one bad thing did come out of Pre-U Sem. :( I have been uglified. My weird, weird eczema (which attacks only once a year) mutated into rosacea, a nasty skin disorder which seriously uglified me. How bad is it? Well, I can make grown men blanch, children burst into tears and run for their mummies and others recoil in shock and horror. But it's quite okay now because I'm on a course of medication which has (thankfully) improved my looks. I went and looked it up on the Internet immediately (I always do that) and found that lots of famous people have it. Bill Clinton, Princess Diana, Rembrandt, Mariah Carey... I am not alone in my unglamness :)

Looking forward to being back in the real world, i.e. back to studying. Ugh. Got to mug for Common Tests, coming up soon.

2008-05-24T23:10:00.001+08:00

Back for (I think) my last round of blogging before I hop off for Pre-U Sem.

These few days (almost a week) I have been very emo, angry and upset. It could be PMS, but I dunno. Freaking annoying.

I just had GP common test and Maths lecture test this week and I'm not happy. To add to my depression, I got back my progress report. If you can call it that. Not much progress has been made.

Good: I passed everything...
Bad: ...with 2 Es and a D for my H2s...
Ugly: ...and a C and D for GP and Lit respectively.

I want to kill myself can.

And all this does nothing for my social woes. This is what happens when you care about other people too much.

Even if you don't care about your grades, I do. As a friend who cares about you, I would happily scold you, except I have no right to do so since my grades are also pathetic. But yours makes mine look outstanding. Not to mention your attitude, which is simultaneously frustrating, hurtful and puzzling. What do you see me as? Lackey? PA? Accquaintance? Minion? Subordinate? Or are you trying to show me I was wrong? Make up your mind.

I have a love-hate relationship with my class as well. Sometimes I feel that if I had my way, they'd all be dead and I'd be in jail. Sometimes I can't help but burst with pride because I'm a member of 07S08. Sometimes I wish I was somewhere else. Bloody mood swings. But I believe we can pull through. Hold on for a few more months together. We can do this.

On a totally random note, I now own the best-dressed hanger in town. :) I put my formal shirt, tie and blazer together on the same hanger and it looks really smart.

Back to being emo.

I think I'm having some sort of a mid-life crisis: as in I'm starting to question what I've been doing last year until now as well as my beliefs. I went from all-out supporting SC to hating it to now, resenting my bitter encounters with them and being an open critic. Friendship wise, I also doubt the wisdom of maintaining certain friendships while terminating others. I also heartily regret jeopardising my relations with some people. I also regret being too caught up in leadership last year and not taking my studies seriously enough. Hell, the only thing I don't regret is joining Love Fiesta and Orientation 2 2007. It got me bitten by the leadership bug.

I have to confess here: not a day doesn't go by I don't think of how different my life would be if I had joined council. (I shouldn't have written that, this blog is more popular than it appears.) After all, it was only because of one sentence my sister said (inadverdently) which caused me to drop out of the race. Yes, it was that close. I was happy when SC stepped down, because they were the daily reminder of what I came so close to having, but lost. It was, in the early days, a virtual slap in the face. But I persevered. I forged my own path and got burnt, many many times. I cried on the inside a lot.

That's all water under the bridge now. But scars remain.

Thanks Grace and Cherie, for everything you've done, the long long talks, the words of comfort and reassurance. Grace, as my OG mate, we've been friends since like forever. :) Cherie, your randomness (you know what I mean) is refreshing and I'm glad you're my friend. :) Thanks, both of you, for putting up with me and my paranoia, insanity and mental instability.

Ah Ma, surprised to be addressed here? :D Thanks for everything la, and being a friend I can talk to. Together we must jia you for 'A' Levels, okay? I will not leave you in peace until you do well. XP

2008-05-18T13:11:00.000+08:00

Huzzah, the approaching end of another day.

I find it quite hard to start off a blog post. Does anyone have the same problem? I never know how to begin so I type something random. I pick up steam once the idiotic opening is over and done with.

Anyway. had the inaugural ASEAN forum thing at NIE today. We were being told to be honoured to have attended the first ever forum but...yeah.

They prepared lanyards for participants to wear, complete with a piece of paper with your name and school printed on it. Donna didn't have one so she ended up wearing Desmy's. :)

Got bored halfway through the Question and Answer session and ended up drawing furiously in my sketchbook. It's not a very good drawing, though. I was lazy and didn't bother to add in the people, both the audience and the panelists.

Anyway, some good did come out of my hobby of drawing.

Later, me, Rashal, Donna, Angela, Bryan (Angela's BF) and Darren skipped out halfway through and Rashal's dad was kind enough to give us all a ride to Boon Lay MRT. That wasn't easy, cramming all of us into the back of the minivan but we survived. :)

Went home to stone and do Maths. How loathsome. I must go out and buy court shoes, there aren't any that will fit me and I have no intention of wearing shoes one size too small throughout the entire Pre-U Seminar. Ugh.

A grasshopper of a variety I'd never seen before crashed onto my book while I was working earlier tonight. What did I do to it? *diabolical laughter*. Ask me in person.

I really would like a piano. I need to indulge my new obsession with Yiruma by learning more of his pieces but my cheap keyboard is too short and the sound quality sucks. But real pianos cost at least $2000 and clavinovas $900 and good keyboards for $800 (a music instrument leaflet got dropped in my mailbox today). But I think it'll be a waste of money on little untrained me.

I think I'll not be blogging tomorrow and Monday because my life is basically going to be the same.

2008-05-16T23:57:00.003+08:00

I'm back. MUAHAHAHAHA. (Were you shocked? You shouldn't be. This is my blog, after all.) :)

Sports Meet was today. Owens came in last, as usual. Ugh, I thought I'd mark my graduating year with a bang but looks like it's a total flop. Ah well.

I was awfully busy this year, 07S08 being the admin comm for Owens. I love being busy. The more hassled and stressed I am, the happier I get. Unless of course, it's school work, then I am plain hassled and stressed. Anyway, ended up running back and forth with lots of cheering in between.

The best Owens cheer (in my opinion) is:

Say no to Rono
Ban the Bannister
Bikila, go home la!
Owens Owens go gila!

For some reason, we'd get death stares from the other houses every time we did this cheer. :)

That idiot Yu Feng (despite no longer being Owens house captain) 'confiscated' all the medals Owens won during sports heats ie. for all the field events and the vast majority of the track events for 'safe-keeping' and 'to ensure they reach the rightful owners'. Haiya. I think we all can kiss the medals goodbye already. Sadly, that was one of the very few acts in his capacity as a house captain (and I do think that was pathetic).

To add to that, where was he after the meet ended? We were all supposed to clear up the mess after the Sports Meet ended. Once Darren turned his back, the entire house fled the scene, leaving only my class and a handful of others. He was furious, forbidding us from going onto the field to clean up. Only Syira (the new Owens house captain) and another guy was out there, carrying the tables in. We all ran out, naturally, once Darren was gone.

Jonathan, Max, the usual gang didn't turn up for Sports Meet again. Our scolding backfired and now we shall all catch it. Ugh.

After lunch with Rashal, Jasmine, Angela, Michele and Shirlyn at IMM, went to Desmy's to check whether she was still alive. Despite having wisdom tooth surgery, that girl still asked me to buy her 2 bowls of oyster mee sua and a bag of crispy fried chicken. -.- Incidentally, she ate it all, stopping only because her mouth was tired. I was not grossed out by the wisdom tooth. *smiles* Luckily I have nice, obedient wisdom teeth which do as they're told and grow straight.

Got lotsa homework to do, and a Maths lecture to study for. Plus, I've an ASEAN forum tomorrow morning *faints* Life is really not easy. But what to do?

2008-05-15T19:43:00.001+08:00

Haha, yes I think I was emo when I posted that. But nowadays I am, all the time.

Nothing else important is happening in my life right now, nothing blogworthy.

2008-05-15T18:39:00.007+08:00

The 27th Students' Council stepped down yesterday, the 14th of May 2008, ending a term which began on the 24th of May, 2007.

In a grand ceremony (though not as grand as last year), the 28th Students' Council of Jurong Junior College were invested with the theme 'Valeo' (my class kept thinking it was Caleo, until now I insist the V is lying way too flat.

Besides being a formal occasion to symbolise the stepping up of the juniors, it makes me feel old. Very soon there'll be the investiture of the 28th student leaders and then prelims and then 'A' Levels!!! Time really passes too fast.

Although I do acknowledge I am too biased to be qualified to write an eulogy (refer to previous entries on this blog), I would like to. Kindly do not take umbrage at whatever I say.

I am one of those few leaders who have spent a great amount of time with the 27th, both in projects and on a personal level. It would be greatly exaggerating the truth to say that the relationship between us has been smooth-sailing all this while.

I'm not going to lie and say that this council was excellent. They were not. To use an euphemism, they were fiercely independent. Some members were especially so, bulldog stubborn to the end. On the positive side, though, the 27th was tenacious. It weathered the many scandals and survived being tarnished again and again. More than once, they were estranged from the 27th student leaders. Conflicts broke out sporadically between members of both camps, of which I have had more than my fair share. Not stopping there, many more scuffles were internal, of which the effects remained hidden behind a mask.

To be honest, as a project leader, I wasn't happy to work with the 27th. I liked them on a personal level but I had very little positive things to say about the way they did things. I believe the other leaders felt the same way. Nevertheless, as good JJ leaders, we supported them whole-heartedly and formed Team JJ.

To say they were incompetent would be a lie. The 27th were and are excellent leaders. They got better with time as all good organizations do. Together, the 27th batch of leaders grew and matured.

We all have had our disagreements. But in the end, we are still bonded as one with a common goal. Like a family. I can say I was proud to be of the 27th batch.

27th, thank you for the fun, the laughter, the guidance, the time, the effort, the blood, sweat and tears, the leadership, the courage to stand up, the love. It wasn't easy, but you did it.

Below are a few random pics.

Taken on Investiture, 2007

2008-05-11T14:51:00.004+08:00

This weekend was damn fun.

Owens camp was so freaking fun! :) Can't believe we stayed up until 4am playing games. The whole class should have been there, we had such a great time.

The fun started on Friday, with the much-anticipated rugby final. The idiot people in charge kept encouraging us to come down and support the players, then told us there's only room for 40 ppl. *rolls eyes* In the end, we took a taxi there. The uncle was so nice, after we got turned down by 5 taxis, he not only knows where CCAB is, but he also insisted we pay only pay $12 taxi fare instead of $12.20. Sadly, JJ didn't manage to retain our title and we lost to CJ. The score is still unknown to me because I really didn't have a clue what was going on on the pitch, being my first ever rugby match.

The most annoying thing was the councillors, that graduated senior currently in JJ as a PC teacher (I think his name is Weijie) and the Bannister camp people. Throughout the whole match, Biyun/Pearlyn/Weijie/some other person kept jumping up and leading a cheer. THAT WAS FREAKING ANNOYING. The worst thing was the damn orientation cheers. Bloody hell, it's a rugby match, people. You don't go 'Ole ole ak ak' at a rubgy match. On one hand, there were the people who have been going for practically every match trying to pay attention to the game. And the stupid leaders jumping up and trying to get everybody to cheer.

Believe it or not, even when someone was trying to make an important kick, there was still cheering. How retarded.

As though all that wasn't bad enough, once or twice, we spectators were even asked to stand up and 'squeeze', i.e. gather into one solid block to cheer, so as to make it sound louder. Then we had to do 'Boom boom pa'. -.- OH COME ON. Thanks to my intensive JJ leader training, I obediently stood up, keeping in mind the rule of always supporting the person in front. (Who in my opinion, doesn't deserve it.) It turned into such a farce later on that I had to sit down and resolve not to participate in such asinine activity.

After the match was over, Mr Leow took over and asked us to sing the school anthem for the team, which was actually a very sensible thing to do. Later on, a group of us asked one of our classmates who is on the team what he thought of the entire fiasco. Luckily, he didn't care about the highly inappropriate cheering, though he was a bit confused why they were doing orientation cheers. At last, he did say he was touched when we sang the school song, which only goes to show that Mr Leow is a master of politics.

The councillors got a bad scolding after the match, a bit misdirected in my opinion because it was Weijie who started the orientation cheers. I don't know, maybe the teachers were just pissed and wanted to shout at somebody. Quite a few cried and I went down to try an comfort them. I was most pissed with Pearlyn then. When I asked Cherie what was wrong (knowing full well why, of course), she was rebuked by Pearlyn not to cry in front of leaders. Of course. That explained why other councillors just gave me watery smiles and told me nothing was wrong, thanks for asking. So fake. Well, if council doesn't need leaders, that's fine with me. I myself have been chased away many times.

Open your eyes. Even loyal leaders didn't support council this time. Whenever you give us commands, we resent you and the only reason we obey them is because JJ must present a united front to the outside. After the exposure of YOG, we cannot afford to slip up. But actually we did. The CJ people, plus some students from other schools who came down to watch the match or support their friends witnessed the extreme disunity (half the people cheering, people not paying attention to the people in front) and the scolding the councillors received. I could see them watching us. And damn it, I felt damn malu for even the half-hearted cheering I was doing earlier.

Anyway, to make things a little more cheerful, we hung around the pitch until 7 something before making our way back to school. We were supposed to have reported for Owens camp at 5.30pm. After a long long bus ride back to Boon Lay Interchange, we had our dinner at 9 to 9.30pm. :)

We eventually got back to school at 10pm and sneaked up to the LN to slack at camwhore. :)Then it was playtime! We ate, played games and talked until 4am. Angela and Abbie were so tired they fell asleep right in the middle of a conversation and the others were still waiting for the joke that Angela was going to tell. :D

The next day was still as fun and we had tug-of-war, banner painting and cheer designing. We came up with a damn good cheer which I won't reveal here. Wait until Sports Meet :)

And we each got a cool wristband! I didn't know there were companies that make these bands for you. And it's a great way to show our colours :)

And on Saturday night, went for an extremely posh dinner at Equinox, billed as the highest restaurant on Singapore :) The dinner was exceedingly long, breadsticks were served at 8pm and ending with coffee served at 11pm. Lots of fancy food with names I can't even pronounce, mostly in French. I didn't even know what I was eating half the time, I'd just be munching and thinking about it.

I am truly a low-class person at heart, since I was totally uneasy in such luxurious surroundings. Going to eat char kuay teow now. :) Incidentally, why do Singaporeans like sweet char kuay teow? Personally, I think it's vile and much prefer the savoury Malaysian version.

I must post an interesting observation here: when ang moh people open a door, they usually hold it open for the people behind to walk in. The people behind walk normally, repeating if there are others behind. In contrast, when Singaporeans open the door and hold it open, the people behind walk faster so they can pass through without having to open the door. This happened to me yesterday at Jurong Entertainment Centre: I held the door open for a lady with a pram and the family behind them with an armload of books immediately sped up, propelling their children forward until I was forced to hold it open longer otherwise the door would slam in their faces, they were so close behind the woman with the pram. And the people behind them did the same thing, rushing through until there was nobody. You gotta love Singapore.

2008-05-02T18:32:00.001+08:00

Hello.

Am simultaneously very angry, sad and confused. Bloody hell, I must have not recovered from my illness. Like the old people say, I've been touched in the head.

I went back to school today, happily enough even while dreading the evils of three impending tests, one of which was the much-feared Chem SPA. It was wonderfully breezy during morning assembly, the strong winds bringing ominous dark clouds with it. And I was happy, because dark clouds mean RAIN. Anybody who knows me well knows how much I love rain. I have been known to openly ignore shelter to walk in drizzle. Everytime I am 'forced' to sprint through a heavy downpour, I do so while giggling openly. Okay, I'm freaking people out now.

GP TCA first thing in the morning was alright, except 5 minutes to the end of the paper, I was wishing that I'd did another question instead. But at least it's not actual 'A' Levels. The main disadvantage of it was exhausting the writing hand way before Chem SPA.

Nothing eventful (Ms. Loh gave us the period to study)after that. It was a wise decision, in my opinion. It gives her the feeling of still being in control. If she had demanded we have a tutorial instead, the class would have both defied her by secretly studying under the table PLUS hating her for not having a heart. One must take note of such political maneuvers. If you ask me, teenagers are a terribly rebellious bunch.

Chem SPA was a lot less stressful than I predicted. I did, after all, study at home by setting myself a 7- and 9-compound mock paper with phenols, halogenalkanes and alkenes thrown in, apart from the usual suspects. There were 5 compounds in this paper, all of which were not particularly thorny. I suffered the common malady of a severely cramped writing arm (not content with just a hand, I have to put the entire arm out of commission). But it was alright. Yay me!

DIGRESSION HERE

While I was sick and off my medication, I suffered a series of psychologically disturbing and... increasingly twisted dreams, (I was going to write 'perverted' but i just know somebody out there is going to interpret it as sexual in nature. Get a life, my friend.) thanks to delirium from the bloody high fever. I postulate in my weakened state, my dark subconscious escaped and manifested itself. As most people know, I am partially conscious when dreaming and the rational mind was able to watch what was going on. Let's just say that these dreams are nowhere near healing in nature. Thankfully they stopped after I went on meds.

Things aren't the same, though. I feel... different. Changed, if you will. I only just realized it after going back to school today
AND HERE WE RETURN TO THE MAIN NARRATIVE

Yes. I got angry with my class for no reason at all. Then I saw someone's face and got even more pissed. Then it went away. Later on, feeling rather alarmed, I tried to act normal and ended up in a coughing fit.

Maybe it was stress from Chem SPA, but I became rather irritable. Mr. Leow's early release of the class (another brilliant political strategy!) did nothing to quell the mood swings. (And they say he has perpetual PMS. He got nothing on me.)

The final straw was when I tried to talk to my friend and got asked to wait. And wait. And wait. I hit boiling point and stalked away, mumbling "Why do I even bother,". And what? Ha. Now it gets ludicrous. Nobody noticed.

Now, I can't speak for anywhere else because I spent my formative years here, but, in Singapore, people walk on eggshells. Everybody hates at least a somebody but you can never tell because they never let it show. The air is thick with suppressed hatred and backstabbing and bitchiness and false smiles and fake cheer. BUT I CAN'T STAND IT. You can say I'm crude with no political sense (but you won't. You'd smile sweetly in front of me and say it discreetly to your group of friends once my back is turned). It's true, I have no stomach for politics and the games people play.

Ha, ha! This is where it gets interesting.

My point here is that people don't tell other people to their face that they can't stick them. I, unable to fit into this environment, go around feeling like a blasted lightbulb, to use the quaint phrase. (Who says blogging is detrimental to English? Go look up the bombastic words in the online dictionary and improve your vocabulary.)

Now, I can't tolerate being overlooked. Ignored, okay. Tolerable to a limited degree. Vilified, feh. I had the entire Primary 2 hate me for a month. Been there, done that. Treated as an object of curiousity? I could live with that. I spent Sec 2-4 like that. But treated as a mere tool? Never.

I love school simply because it doesn't make me feel like an outsider. Sadly, the same can't be said about the people there. People who gossip and backstab. People who recognise my existence and presence(!) when they have need of my services, then immediately forget me.(There are a lot in this category.) People who can't be trusted. (There are so many two-faced people in school, one might think that there are 2,400 students in JJ rather than around 1,200.)

*Takes a 5 minute break to check email.*

Ooh, I've won a Stikfas toy! :) It's from the N.E. Mation voters' contest. But I need to go collect the wretched thing personally from Mediacorp. Anybody know where the hell is Andrew Road?

Keeping anger bottled up inside is certainly unhealthy. How does one vent it? Blogging, of course. If not, you'll surely die a painful, lingering death.

Death? That's interesting.

*Takes a 1 hour break to surf the Internet about suicide, death, yada yada.*

After reading all that crap, confirmed I'll never commit suicide. That's stupid. Suicidal people think they have nothing left to live for. I don't. If you want me dead, well, you're going to have to kill me.

Eh, now that's over and done with, I can put my mask back on and rejoin the masquerade. Let the mask parade begin.

2008-05-01T17:33:00.003+08:00

The sick diaries II

Am much better today after swallowing vast quantities of antibiotics. Yesterday evening caved in and went to see a doctor. The clinic was very surprised to see me ("Long time no see, ya. Haha taking good care of yourself?").

Anyway, the official diagnosis is the common cold combined with a REALLY REALLY bad throat infection. How bad is it? It single-handedly caused my fever and giddiness and demands three courses of medication. Yes, it's that wretched. *cough*

Somehow the medication has caused me to cough. Still got gobs of bloody phlegm, though much reduced in volume and frequency. Yay for medication!

Swallowing my medication faithfully every 6 hours really helps. Managed to study for Chem SPA with a mega mock paper consisting of 7 organic compounds. 0.0

Cherie invited me along to watch 'Shakespeare On Love' today with the H2 Lit people but I politely declined. I needs to mug, like every good H2 Chem student is doing today, yes? Incidentally, a review of the show came out in the Straits Times today, in the Life section. To summarise it, the reviewer had mixed feelings about the play, enjoying the 'Measure For Measure' segment but criticising the others. He was especially vicious with the 'Othello' part, saying it 'fell flat'. Ouch. If you ask me, a great job would be an art critic. You can insult performances (in high level bitchy terms, of course so nobody could definitely interpret it as an outright insult) and nobody could disagree with you because there is no last word on the performance. Bliss.

I MISS SCHOOL. It's actually my first home. I can eat, bathe and sleep in school. My house is where I keep all my stuff. *evil grin*

Thanks to everybody to noticed I wasn't in school yesterday and sent me your touching messages of concern. They are all very much appreciated.

Looks like the sick diaries will have to end because I am obviously not sick anymore.

Rawr, charging back to school tomorrow to face the combined evils of Vectors test, GP TCA, Chem SPA and Mr Leow (not in order of most fearsome). And I have a secret weapon: *waves 3 day MC* in case I was too sick to go to school tomorrow, the good doctor gave me a MC for Friday also. Essentially (for Monopoly fans) I have a Get Out Of Jail Free card. MUAHAHAHAHAHA.

Hmm. Nobody mentioned that the medicine causes behavioural side effects.

2008-04-30T13:40:00.003+08:00

The sick diaries:

I am home sick today, instead of being in school.

How I fell sick is really surprising, because I really didn't see it coming. In short, I went from having a sore throat on Tuesday morning to a full-blown headache and high fever on Tuesday afternoon.

I'm much better now, apart from the bona fide full-blown throat infection (self-diagnosis, judging by the large amounts of bloody dark-yellow phlegm I've been spitting out). Other symptoms include mild fever and giddiness.

Obviously I'm on the road to recovery since I have the strength to be blogging instead of languishing in my sick bed.

So far, I spent an amazing 16 hours sleeping, from 4pm yesterday afternoon to around 10am today. Feels weird not to be in school (yes, it is my first sick day since I dunno how long ago) and instead, to be slacking at home and supposedly recovering.

This sucks. I can't concentrate on studying, let alone mugging for Chem SPA this Friday and yet I can't bring myself to rot at home all day.

The other day, I read an article in the Straits Times about Internet addiction. There was this guy who confessed he had an Internet addiction because he mentioned logging on to check his email and finding himself on Youtube at 2am, watching videos of puppies and kittens doing sick things.

I find that rather disturbing, sitting slumped in front of the computer wasting time like that.

Feeling very mentally disturbed now.

2008-04-26T16:54:00.005+08:00

What a morning.

Have been participating in sports heats on Monday, Thursday and Saturday morning, all the throwing events (and now my throwing arm hurts like crazy). Which begs the question: how am I going to survive Bio and Chem SPA on Monday and Friday respectively next week??!! XP

Somehow got recruited into high jump, an event I am supremely not built for. Since it was the first time I ever did this event, I had a total of 3 collisions with the damn pole. Ouch. Just as I am rubbing my sore butt, along comes Desmy and wins the event. -.- Later, we made another pilgrimage to Sakura (where else?) to gorge.

Supremely pissed with Owens right now. Participation this year is so freaking low, T-pain's song could have been inspired by it. I mean like, bloody hell, I was the only person from Owens in girls' shotput. Yes, the only girl. No J1s whatsoever and the other J2s had dropped out. Pathetic ya? No wonder Owens is lagging so far behind in the points rankings. Anyway, I'm not happy with my throwing because I threw a fault when it easily could have been a 3 pointer. -.- Doesn't make any difference now, because on my lonesome, we'll definitely come in last for girls' throwing events.

Today, well today really took the cake. Participation was at a all time low. The most pathetic thing was tug-of-war. Bannister, I knew, had been conducting training sessions for their teams. Today, we had no team. Yu Feng asked some of the J1s to call their friends down but none actually came. Desperate, we ran around the school searching for people in Owens house who were willing to pull and even recruited people who weren't even from Owens but were happy to help. Even then (incredible, isn't it?), there wasn't enough to make up a J1 team or a J2 team. (20 people per level, 10 guys and 10 girls). To prevent a walkover, the teachers allowed us to form a Owens (and guests) mixed team, conforming only to the 10 guys and girls rule.

The teachers were very unhappy with the house, promising a big scolding on Monday for everybody (definitely not good, there's Bio SPA first thing!!!). Crap. Furthermore, we were humbled by the awesome house spirit of Bannister. Apparently, there wasn't enough Bannister J1s to make up a J1 team so some were asked to call their friends. Amazingly enough, A WHOLE CLASS came down within the hour, ready to pull. It just makes Owens all the more pitiful and shameful.

Moving on, the Owens mixed team (surprisingly) beat Banni 1. Bikila 1 thrashed Owens and Banni 2 and Rono 2. :( My hands were thankfully not blistered, but they were certainly quite raw (thanks, Ching Wei, for the ice!). Touchingly, Bannister lent us their leather gloves that they specially bought for the event when we were pulling against Bikila. It certainly spared my hands some of the sting, Bikila pulls like nobody's business :P

After the event, Banni held a meeting to discuss whether they should protest against the Owens mixed team (if they did, we'd be disqualified). Thankfully and generously, they decided friendship is more important than winning and Banni, Owens and Rono should work together against Bikila. :D I seriously think that Owens participation is damn screwed.

I mean like, it won't hurt to participate in some events! On Monday, Hema had to drop out of javelin so I asked some of my classmates to replace her, just for the sake of earning a few participation points. (We certainly couldn't win, not after the Bikila girls flung that damned javelin beyond the maximum mark). Infuriatingly, they all refused to join. What the hell??!! It won't bloody kill you to toss that goddamn javelin around! Bloody unenthu lazy bums with no sense of house spirit.

I digress. I must go back to studying for Bio SPA, ugh. No point getting angry.

2008-04-19T17:57:00.000+08:00

Feeling simultaneously accomplished and worn down this week.

This afternoon (instead of doing some other more important things like Vectors, hahaha), I did a puzzle instead, a cheap 300 piece one from Daiso. Finished it in less than 1hr 30mins, which is very good :D Apparently jigsaw puzzles are excellent exercise for the mind, especially for developing spatial thinking. Spatial thinking, by the way, is good for maths and music.

Starting out.

About 30 mins into the puzzle...

About 1hr into the puzzle...

Done! :) The puzzle shows a famous French painting called 'Napoleon Crosses the Alps' which is about...well, Napoleon crossing the Alps.

Anyway, yesterday I donated blood. This time, I went with a lot of my classmates. Nothing really exciting this year, the most painful part is still when they 'staple' your finger to test iron and haemoglobin levels. Now only I learned that the paddle thing they use to rub your arm is actually localised anaesthetic (well no wonder it didn't hurt when the needle went in). The needle is really very big, almost as big as the mini straw that comes with the packets of water.

A lot of people got turned away because either their iron levels were too low or their veins were too small. A pity really, but it can't be helped. My classmates went to lounge around the sofa set outside the LN, eating and drinking the free stuff provided.

My arm. Yes, this picture is a little disturbing.

Rashal and me!

And again.

A suspicious can of Coke. Note the dent in the lower right hand corner. It later turned out to be flat so it went into the trash immediately.

As for this week, it went pretty bad. Somehow my class managed to get scolded by all our teachers. Yesterday's Maths lesson was especially bad. The atmosphere in there was so bad, you could cut it with a knife.

I'm also quite fed up with my classmates. It's bad enough that we get scolded every week by the teachers. At least we could have a little class spirit, rather than nothing at all. After all the hassle Angela and I went through to get the class tee, the class won't even bother to wear it. Class tees are a form of solidarity, to show that we are united. Nooo. After we agreed to wear it on Fridays, the class has yet to show up wearing it, giving pathetic excuses like 'it doesn't look good on me' and 'i forgot to wear' and 'i don't like it. It's too ugly'. Hello. I have only two words: Grow up. We don't even have our teachers' respect. Wearing the class tee isn't just about coordinating our clothes: it's about presenting an united body. We don't have our teachers' respect. That's not good. Isn't it worse if we can't even depend on each other?

The final straw for me was yesterday's Bio SPA trial. What I saw was an astonishing display of lack of integrity. Okay, not being saintly and all, I admit I was tempted to do the same. But I didn't. And I believe actions speak louder than words. All I can say is these people who did what they did are going to suffer in two weeks' time. I guarantee it.

This few weeks have been a time of great turmoil for me. I have distanced myself from almost everything and I don't feel anything.

2008-04-11T20:18:00.000+08:00

Sigh.

Today's post will be very emo and relatively short.

I got my PW grade today... I got a C... and I want to go and jump off a building already.

Somebody once told me some interesting things about suicide in Singapore: if you want to commit suicide by throwing yourself off a building, jump from the 9th floor and above otherwise you won't die instantly. And of course, the higher up you go, the more splatter you'll leave for the undertakers to scrape off the floor. What's more, killing yourself in a HDB area is highly inconsiderate because you'll not only traumatise some poor innocent kids who see you jump or stumble upon your remains, the price of units in the area will plunge as well. Apparently, there was a case where this kid made eye contact with a person falling and never was the same again.

So if I do decide to top myself (haven't reached a conclusion yet) I'll go kill myself in a more pleasant manner, one that will inconvenience as few people as possible. Yeah, like prepare a coffin and lie down in it, closing the lid as I die. XP

As you can see, I'm already in a negative state of mind. Not a good condition to do a lot of thinking today, as I did, about my life and everything.

Conclusions? I've realised how wrong I've been. I've been so horribly wrong about everything about you. But there's nothing I can do, because I can't bring myself to do what's right. I've been foolish, wasting my time and efforts.

Admittance is the first step to recovery.

I'll get better.

2008-04-10T19:24:00.004+08:00

Finally get to update my poor blog.

Ugh, had Bio test today, which I am DEFINITELY going to flunk. SO looking forward to it, ya? After the initial happiness of passing the last test, now I am going to flunk so bad... never mind. It defies comment. Imagine, if now I'm struggling so hard just to pass, what will it be like when to comes to 'A' Levels? DIE!!!

Passed my Ionic and Chemical Equilibrium test, but not very well. I'm still happy anyway, because they're very mathematical topics and we all know how my Maths is. >.< Damn it, got a lot of careless mistakes. What is my problem, I wonder? It's as though I am test-impaired, cannot take tests properly. No excuse! I must jia you for Chem!!!

Incidentally, I also passed the Stats block test with a 36/60. ALSO NOT GOOD. I lost 6 marks due to careless mistakes. I'm really very damn careless, I've been generously giving marks back to the teachers ever since primary school. RAWR. MUST STOP THIS BAD HABIT.

Currently, awaiting the results of the afore-mentioned Bio test (prognosis is not good) and a GP test which I took last Friday. Needless to say, I am not looking forward to anyone of them.

Next Wednesday and Thursday, there's a blood drive in JJ. Excited me is going to go donate blood just because I can. Now I am 18 and slightly over, I don't need a parental consent form anymore, HAHAHA. Okay, a little high but marking this milestone in the road leading to the independence of adulthood. I'm getting as many people as possible to go with me, I don't want to end up like last year, when I went alone. Unfortunately, can't skip classes to donate blood because my class' timeslot to donate blood falls squarely during the Maths lecture test next week. Ergo, we have to donate on our own time. No big issue, I can go on Wednesday or something. After all, you don't really need all your blood to be at your best for the Maths test, right?

Crapping again. Right, must stop this nasty habit.

Will update ASAP.

2008-03-28T22:49:00.000+08:00

Yay, I am back to normal blogging.

Really a lot happened this week, both for me and the school.

This week was the CDAYL(Cultural Diplomacy - Asian Young Leaders) Convention. (It took me a week to know what it stood for :P) So the whole week we had people from Singaporean schools and Asian countries come and experience a JJ-style camp.

There were some Malaysians there - they were easy to spot because of the outrageous light blue neon pinafores the girls were wearing. Even when they were in the camp their shirts were printed in Malay. A whole lot of people from Teck Whye Sec but I don't really give a damn. My generation was quite some time ago.

For those of you who don't already know, I've gotten a haircut. Pretty drastic for some people who've never seen me with short hair, especially not this short. Let's see...the last time I cut my hair was December 2006 so ya. It's gonna take me a really long time before it looks somewhat normal instead of looking like a lawnmower ran amok on my head. Yes, it's that ugly. No, actually it's fugly. To be precise, it's ohmygawd-why-you-cut-your-hair!-it's-so-short! damn freaking fugly. The hairdresser was damn retarded man!

Anyway, kind friends assure me that hair grows back. Well yeah it does! This has to be the craziest thing I've done in my life: get a bad haircut on an impulse. How did it happen?

Last Wednesday afternoon, Angela and I were crapping and generally wasting time when we started talking about hair. Then she got really, really excited, with the crazy idea about trimming my fringe. So crazy, she dragged me to the nearest hair salon. Tyrannical Hairdressing Woman (THW) doesn't speak passable English, so I was left to her tender mercies while she and Angela conversed about the hair. Apparently, according to Angela, THW suggested a bob for me, asserting that it would look good on me. So sure, she snapped at her to 'trust me'. Not good.

The hairdressers' always scares me because 1) I have to take my glasses off so I can't see what's going on and I'm totally blur, 2) in Singapore, somehow hairdressers either don't speak English or speak primary school level, hence the exact kind of hairstyle I want gets lost in translation, 3) I have no clue about hairstyles and what I want, and 4) whatever disaster they produce gets stuck with me for a year until the hair grows out.

So to cut a long story short, I now sport a daringly short bob which makes me feel like I have fleas and part of my hair was ravaged to make way for the treatment. Reactions have been mixed, from polite comments from people I don't know very well and much less tact from closer people. Why, my 'husband' suggested I wear a wig!!! Thanks for the support lao gong. -.-

Moral of the story: don't tamper with the hair.

For the week, it was pretty disastrous because I didn't manage to catch up on my sleep, resulting in uncontrollable drowsiness. But have no fear! Saturday is here (well almost!)

Last night, outrageous hair and all, I went for Leaders' Night just to soak up the atmosphere. Like I said earlier, I'm getting tired of this stuff but yeah. Cherie's reaction was really funny.

Me: (taps Cherie on the shoulder) Hi dear.
Cherie: (turns and glances briefly) Oh, hi May Ching.
*pauses and spins back*
Cherie: OHMYGAWD!!!!!!!!!!

Well, it's been a few days and I guess the shock effect is wearing off. Leaders' Night was really fun, though I went out after the family performances to catch a breath of fresh air.

Looks like I'm not gonna be posting until next weekend, judging by the amount of work I've got to do. Ugh.

2008-03-22T23:53:00.001+08:00

Feeling unmotivated to blog so shall do this music quiz thing nicked off Gelnnda's blog.

How To Play
1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question even if it doesn't make sense. No cheating.
4. With the answers, give your own comments on how it relates to the questions.
5. Tag 5 people.

How are you feeling today?
Good Riddance - Green Day
Couldn't have asked for a better song! Ahaha, this is my response to most enquiries, ya?

Will you get far in life?
Where Is The Love - Black Eyed Peas
Hmm. Interesting. Maybe I'll spend my life as an activist. Maybe a naggy old lady.

How do your friends see you?
What I've Been Looking For - High School Musical OST
Should have had the previous song here instead. Well, anyway, maybe they really, really adore me.

Will you get married?
The Geeks Get The Girls - American Hi-Fi
Omygosh! I'm getting married to a geek! (I swear, I'm not doctoring the shuffle playlist!)

What is your best friend's theme song?
When You Say Nothing At All - Ronan Keating
Mmm. In the strictest sense of the word, I don't have a best friend. But maybe that's why she says nothing at all.

What is the story of your life?
Miles Apart - Yellowcard
Yeah. Miles apart from anything I ever grew to care about.

What was high school like?
Basket Case - Green Day
Full of nutjobs and insane people. Turned me into a right basket case.

How can you get ahead in life?
These Words - Natasha Bedingfield
Write extremely mushy love songs?

What's the best thing about your friends?
Unbreakable - Westlife
They stick with me through everything? Well, at least they're supposed to.

What's in store for this weekend?
Start Of Something New - High School Musical OST
I'll go shave my head bald and join a rock band. Then get a tattoo of a bleeding skull.

Describe your grandparents.
Holly Wood Died - Yellowcard
The last word most appropriate here.

How's your life going?
Light Up The Sky - Yellowcard
Nah. Can't be. No way I'm gonna be that happy.

What song will they play at your funeral?
If I Let You Go - Westlife
!!! Well too bad, I'm gone.

How does the world see you?
Promise - Simple Plan
A hope for the future? Sounds like the plot of some movie.

Will you have a happy life?
Bop To The Top - High School Musical OST
Ooh yes. I'll spend it shimmying and dancing salsa.

Do people secretly lust after you?
City Of Devils - Yellowcard
In the above circumstances, I'd rather they not.

How can you make yourself happy?
Five Colours In Her Hair - McFly
Do mass dance. Or get my hair dyed. Cheerful enough, except Mr Koh will come after me.

What should you do with your life?
Catch Your Wave - The Click Five
Become a world-class surfer or beach bum. Bliss.

Will you ever have children?
The Way I Are - Timbaland
Hmm... I guess not. I like it now the way I are. My maternal instincts have yet to kick in.

What song would you strip to?
Welcome To Paradise - Green Day
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!!!

What does your mum think of you?
Your Song - Elton John
Interesting answer. Maybe I'm selfish or something.

What is your deep, dark secret?
Unwell - Matchbox Twenty
I'm mentally unbalanced. I have an alter ego named Psycho sharing my brain.

What is your mortal enemy's theme song?
Welcome To My Life - Simple Plan
Yeah. A life as miserable as hers.

What's your personality like?
Kiss The Rain - Yiruma
I couldn't give a damn? Or maybe I'm a nature freak.

What song will be played at your wedding?
Fool Again - Westlife
O.o Hopefully my future husband won't take offence.

I am tagging:
Eugene (Thanks for the support old chum.)
Cherie
Angela
Wei
Xinyi

2008-03-12T23:16:00.003+08:00

Tell me when the March holidays have started.

Seriously, I can't believe it's Wednesday night, almost Thursday, and I've been run ragged off my feet.

First up, on Monday was the Sports camp. That was quite fun, what with the mental focusing workshops and the motivational movie. The Line Camp was running at the same time, though we hardly ever met with them. Mealtimes and washing up times were scheduled so we wouldn't clash. No word on whether the toilets managed to have a break.

Sports camp broke at 1pm on Tuesday. Insane me wanted to camp overnight until Wednesday to help out in the Line Camp, because I had extra stuff and everything. :) In the end, I went out for lunch with Hema and went home to mug. I did go back to school in the evening, to disturb Davina and for mass dance.

Line Night was really fun, as these nights always are. However, this time I kept slipping out, whether for fresh air or to scavenge a bite to eat. I must be getting jaded. Before I know it, I'll start getting bored of JJ Night. *screams in horror*

Something bad happened, though. I didn't see how exactly it happened, but one of my campers from MAD camp last year, coming back for another camp, got badly injured. Her knee looked quite bad, with bulges in the wrong places. Interestingly enough, she wasn't crying, her facillitators were. The 26th batch of council plus leaders handled it quite well, getting the other facillitators and other seniors to form a human barrier around the scene. We all then started doing 'Chori Chori' as though nothing was wrong to make sure the other campers didn't see anything and kept the mood high.

Eventually, the ambulance paramedics managed to take her away, with the help of some of the seniors and things went back to normal. I caught up with my boy, Weiting :) After the campers and facillitators had left the hall, I helped clean up the hall. The highlight was the balloons! :) There were two archways made with helium balloons and instead of cutting them up, they drew both strings of balloons together into one great mass then took photos!

Size comparision between me and the balloons.

Grace's turn.

Xinyi's nearly carried away.

And the balloons nearly carry me away, whoa!

After all the fuss, Grace and I go out for dinner. We talked and talked and talked... Later on we were discussing some serious stuff which I won't summarise here just in case this blog gets screened for controversial opinions.

Really wanted to stay overnight in school again but had to go home and sleep because of a squash friendly at Victoria JC today. Incidentally, the location of this place really makes me love JJ all the more. It's already bad enough that the school is in the East. Some more, the nearest MRT is Eunos. And that is a 20-minute taxi ride away. So you get a good idea of how far away it is from this corner of Singapore I live in.

I'm whacked already and I'm not done yet. There's still an OG outing tomorrow and Chem lesson on Friday. Rawr.

2008-03-08T23:32:00.004+08:00

I'm too lazy to type up a proper blog entry today. So I'll just post a few photos from this week. After all, a picture tells a thousand words.

Rashal's 'punishment' for people who didn't attend her party: take a photo with big bunny ears and garland. Here my ah ma Angela accepts her fate graciously.

I can't stand it. I must try them on too.

And smile! The closest I'll ever get to being a Playboy bunny. Haha, the ears were so heavy I had to hold them on instead of balancing them properly before Mr Leow came in!

Our dear CT Ms. Tan bought the whole class ice cream and since there were three absentees... Angela and I nobly volunteered to help eat an extra cone. Here she is in bliss.

Enjoying the ice creams.

2008-03-07T23:12:00.001+08:00

Another tiring week. Or a rather regular week, if you're a J2.

Had 4 big tests this week and already I want to die. Two GP tests, one essay writing and one content, Bio test and Chem test.

As if mugging for tests isn't already bad enough, today was the results of the 2007 'A' Levels. Here's the weekly summary:

Monday: Workout for PC. The whole class is either sick and absent, sick and in school or going to be sick. GP content test and the week doesn't look that promising. High points, though: Jonathan with big, pink bunny ears and matching wreath and ice cream in GP class.

Tuesday: Another workout in PC today, coupled with squash training. Entire Bio cohort thrown into chaos by the impending evil of the Test. Feeling of doom even more intensified.

Wednesday: CCA open house! 100 people signed up for squash. :) The initial tryouts were today and while there was a lot of potential, it still needs to be lovingly cultivated. Nearly got thrown out of netball training while accompanying kakak Radha there. DESPITE upcoming doom of the Bio test, stayed in school until late. Dear junior Davina gave me a belated birthday present. :) At least some people care enough to give me something, no matter how late *hint hint* >:)

Thursday: THE TEST. Damn glad I didn't skip Cultural Studies all this while because the people who missed two lessons got told off by Mr. Koh today. The Bio people missed about 10 minutes of the test, which was certainly valuable. I'm pretty sure I'm FINISHED, because Ms. Loh practically fed us the answers for Question 1 last Friday's remedial and I forgot. :P So much for J2 mentality. Squash today very exhausting, plus got some brain cells knocked out by an errant ball. Great, and I need those.

Friday: Release of 'A' Level results. Got my Malay results back, which were exactly what I expected. Don't really give a shit about it. Managed to mortify my dear junior Davina and irritate Desmy all within an hour. Must be Psycho coming out and making her presence felt. Dashed off to see my beloved seniors and OGLs getting their results. Did I mention the Chem test, which is of course, utterly and unspeakably evil? GP was vile too. I do hate writing when not in the proper frame of mind. After all the fuss, didn't feel like going home. Sat and crapped with my ah ma Angela for a few hours. :) Can't wait until Friday, we are going eating!

And next week, the so-called March holidays, will be darned busy again. Got a sports camp on Monday and Tuesday and I dunno what to pack...

2008-03-01T11:56:00.003+08:00

Lifting quiz things off Glennda's blog just for the heck of it.

You Are 36% Emo

You're definitely not emo, but you do understand emo people a little. You are introspective, but not to the point of driving yourself crazy.

Are You Emo?

I am an emo kid! Even my own campers told me so!

Your Intrapersonal Intelligence Score: 85%

Your Intrapersonal Intelligence is Very High

You've spent a lot of time introspecting, and it's really paid off.

You are comfortable with who you are, and you have a life philosophy that you are happy to live by.

And you're always re-evaluating what you believe. Because you learn something new about yourself each day!

How Does Your Intrapersonal Intelligence Rate?

Er...okay...

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well.

An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly.

You are also good at remembering information and convincing someone of your point of view.

A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary.

You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

This is kinda obvious anyway...

2008-02-29T20:36:00.001+08:00

OG 4!!! (Ok la, only a mini reunion. But still.)

Grace and I finally caught up with Xinyi!

Wow, this week was really busy, almost as bad as last week.

Basically, in the week I was off the Internet, here's what happened:

Monday: Had Bio SPA. Killer test.

Tuesday: Ran 2.4km for PC, then had Chem SPA. Went out with Desmy to buy a birthday present for Rashal and to EAT. :) Went around eating all the good stuff.

Wednesday: O2 camp started today! Bullied poor Davina while inspecting water bombs at the Ops room early in the morning. (Feels good to be a senior.) >:) Went for external Bio lecture at the Science Centre about the weird and cool things you can do with an embryo (well, at least that's my summary). After all that, spent 3 hours eating in Sakura with Desmy. Anymore eating trips with her and for sure I'll gain weight like crazy!

Thursday: Spent 2 hours waiting for the delivery guy to drop off the class shirts. And the supplier got the order wrong. Ah Ma and I trying to sort out the mess. Rashal called the guy up and bitched him really badly. And it was JJ NIGHT!!! I was super high, I kept scaring Davina. Together, we videoed the council dance! Haha, going to blackmail councillors with it. :) Mass dance with Cherie in an EXTREMELY packed hall. For some reason, more than half the people in the hall were seniors from the 27th all the way to the 24th batches. And SURPRISE SURPRISE!!! Some OG 4 people came back! Peiliang, Sacha, Fendy, Wee Leong... I haven't seen them in ages. Duc and Grace joined us, and we laughed ourselves silly camwhoring. Even though Xinyi wasn't there with us, we did manage to find her and take a picture. (see above) :)

And today is Friday. Everybody's feeling the after effects of JJ night, so there were loads of sick people and people on MCs (Medical Certificates, not May Chings). I was damn tired so that stupid Psycho Clean-and-Clear kept coming out and taking control of me. Apparently, she did some crazy stuff which leaves people questioning me. May Ching. Idiot Psycho. She really doesn't know how to behave herself. And Bio remedial was really fun today! We actually made Ms. Loh laugh, which she certainly doesn't do often enough. Psycho came out and left some of her obscene artwork on Rashal's cup. We were damn high even though Bio was darn draggy, more than 2 hours of viruses and operons. At the end of the lesson, Xiao Wei asked Ms. Loh on a date (i.e. invite her to Rashal's birthday party tomorrow).

Oh yeah! Today is the 29th of February! :) For those of us dinosaurs, the last time we had a school day on this date was in 2000 so it's kinda of a big thing, yeah. :) (My English is degenerating!)

And since the whole school knows already, I was on the JJ team that won 2nd place in the CCS. Refer to my last post. Congratulations will NOT be accepted because I'm damn sick of the whole thing already.

Looking back on the week summary, the length of the description grows with each day. Whoopee. Hopefully I shall crown tomorrow's entry with an essay of Rashal's party.

2008-02-23T23:14:00.001+08:00

Gonna be a very cheerful post.

In stark contrast to yesterday's post:

http://justfaris.livejournal.com/14461.html?view=20605#t20605

Visit his blog, JJcians, and be heartened. This is our JJ spirit in action and makes everything worthwhile. I'm not saying that he is totally right, all I'm saying is that it's appreciation from guys like this, the knowledge that we have touched others out there.

Faris, thank you for letting us know that you've had a great time partying with us. All the best! :)

Anyway, on to the next part.

JJC CAME SECOND IN CHANCELLOR'S CHALLENGE SHIELD 2008!!!

It was so nail-bitingly close! We lost to ACJC by ONE point!!!

Anyway, we showed everybody that JJC is not just a neighbourhood JC only good at producing leaders.

The competition this year was darn scary. So many schools sent representatives: ACJC, HCI, AJC, RVHS, RGS, RI, CJC, TPJC, NUS, NUS High, PJC, YJC, NYJC... and JJC got into the final round!!! The emcee was saying that this was the first time they had so many participants. There were only three teams in the finals: one from ACJC, one from RI, and one from JJC.

In the end, after a long battle, the final score was: ACJC 34 JJC 33 RI 17

All the students were damn shocked: suddenly out of nowhere a neighbourhood JC got into the finals. But we rock!

Another good thing: after the finals were over and we were about to leave, one of the emcee came and congratulated us. He said he was also from JJC :)

JJ JJ is the best! :)

2008-02-22T21:58:00.000+08:00

It's J1s like this who make me deplore the entire cohort.

http://chronicles.dereklim.com

This particular J1 (who I might add is pretty bold to be using his full name to grace this travesty) seems to loathe the JJ culture and everything within it. I really feel sorry for his J2 OGLs. Can you imagine getting this guy to cheer and do mass dance? It would be a task beyond me. And I have experienced 4 camps, 4 batches of campers.

I meant to post something about Youth Olympic Games today but got side-tracked while surfing the Internet for photos and videos of the event, eventually ending up at this charming fellow's blog.

Friends, if you're reading this, the good fellow has blocked all external users from his blog. Never mind, I'll post an exact transcript of his post here (completely unedited, all dereklim's intellectual property)for your perusal:

"i don’t feel attached to JJC at all even after having spent my PAE days there. today’s lectures and talks made me even more disgusted at the JJcian’s way of life.
firstly, the teacher (in charge of orientation) is such a loser. he thinks he’s damn cool to be using teenager’s lingo and acting like a cool student. his so-called jokes are satirical and distasteful to the extent it makes me feel disgusted that he even finds it amusing.
furthermore, i was quite surprised that the teacher (the “ah zek” who pretended to be an RI student during 1st intake orientation) searched online for blogs worshiping JJC and depicting the college as a wonderful and most sought-after school. personally, i wondered how many hours he had to waste and how many blogs he had to scour through before finding one like that. he read an excerpt to the entire J1 cohort in a very mocking and distasteful tone today, and the brainwashed J1s and even the teachers were cheering him on as he read. i don’t blame him anyway. after all, this is the only best thing that JJ can do to boost it’s own reputation — through sarcasm, mocking and crazy cheering. that’s the JJ spirit right there. JJC, you totally impressed me.
as i’ve said before, the only reason for me wanting to stay at JJC is the friends i made there. but now, i doubt if that is a good enough reason for me to stay, although it’s not as if i’ve got a choice given my o level results. nevertheless, i’ve got a point to make — let me ask the J1s which one of you honestly and truly like the school (as in the school itself and not for reasons such as location and friends)..?
the purpose of orientation is to let us make new friends and make us settle into the JC environment easily. orientation #2 in JJC defeats that purpose, especially for those 1st intakers. well, first of all, they grouped us into 1st intake ppl, 2nd intake ppl and 1st intake ppl with L1R5 score 10 or below into separate OGs and to think that they expected us, the 1st batch, to do crazy and pointless cheers once more as we did in during the first orientation..? that’s just bullshit. we’re fools to even do the stupid cheers during the 1st orientation. what is the point of such dumb cheers anyway? to make us forge bonds with fellow peers? to make us enjoy ourselves? to force us out of our comfort zone? to be frank, these cheers just make us look stupid. the dumbass teacher was repeatedly saying “everyone is doing it together so what are you embarrassed of? i’ll drag you up on stage if you don’t do it”. okay — frankly speaking, if only one person does the cheering, he will look like an asshole. if 1 group of people do the cheering, they will look like a bunch of assholes. if the whole J1 cohort do the cheering, the whole J1 level would look like assholes. if the entire school does the cheering, then, needless to say, the school is a central full of assholes. i wouldn’t mind cheering if they have sensible cheers, but seriously, those cheers at JJC are totally annoying to others, completely meaningless and self-derogatory. either way, the most important factor is to have a target audience to cheer for. ask yourselves, what do you plan to achieve by doing such stupid cheers? who are you doing the cheers for anyway? for the OGLs? the teachers? i can still vividly remember how we cheered for the entire block of HDB flats in front of JJC — the purpose of the cheer is to announce that we can shout so loud that echos can be heard bouncing off the HDB flats. how purposeful… i’m a very pragmatic person. i would either put a 100% into what i’m doing, or nothing at all if i don’t even want to do it. since i do not wish to cheer at all, i won’t want to pretend that i’m cheering just to make the teachers and ogls satisfied that they’ve gotten me on. so my polite request to OGLs is to leave me alone. it is understandable if you put in the effort to try to get me going. but if i have the courtesy of politely asking you to not to bother me, i hope that you can just leave me alone. i understand that you’ve undergone training and have a job to do. but if you keep pestering me like maggots, i’ll have to choice but to ask you to fuck off. so please, just leave me, or anyone who’s sensible enough and really in no mood to go through 2nd round orientation ALONE. the J2 OGLs had already successfully gotten us to make new friends and i sincerely hope that, with the purpose of orientation achieved, leave US alone!!
CCA achievements list at JJC:
the only gold was for indian dance. 2 other ccas got silvers, but that was ages ago in 2003 and 2005. i was stunned when that teacher showed us the powerpoint slide.
he kept trying to impress by saying that many other ccas got into semifinals or quarterfinals but short of just a teeny-weeny bit from getting into the semifinals or finals. dear teacher, you don’t even have to waste your breath — the statistics are already lying there in black and white before everyone’s eyes.
JJC thanks for the wonderful memories that you’ve given me. i am certainly looking forward to my 2 yrs studying there. and forgive me for being so frank, i’m just being honest with everyone. please note that this 969-word post is just a summary of why i hate JJC."

Derek, if by some slim chance that you're reading this, I want you to know that I'm 'jj_leader' and only a coward hides behind a blog post. If you really had guts, you'd say aloud what you think and not chicken out, blocking external people from your blog when you start attracting angry protests. Be prepared to defend your opinions, my friend.

Misogynisticlady and Ade, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say you were only defending your friend. But you truly misguided souls should think twice before taking your stand so blindly.

I hope this post hasn't spoiled your day, JJcians.

2008-02-17T21:26:00.001+08:00

I feel damn emo today with lots of dark thoughts on my mind. No idea why.

If I were to die tomorrow, would anyone care?

Will anyone besides my family cry for me?

I don't think so and that saddens me. Much as I want to believe that there are people who care for me, I can't bring myself to.

Maybe it's just me.

... Great. I can't even be emo.

Kena arrowed into doing this personality test.

You are an Experiencer

Your inquisitive nature, imagination, and hands-on practicality make you an EXPERIENCER.

Although you have an active imagination, you also concern yourself with the functional elements of things.

You are willing to experiment to find things that work the most efficiently.

Getting stuck in certain habits is boring to you—you'd rather find new experiences.

Accordingly, experiences are more important to you than objects—you'd rather spend your money and energy on events and adventures than on material things.

You like to contemplate a lot of options before making a decision, and you're willing and able to consider a lot of different angles to problems.

You're open to suggestions, and often rely on others to assess the merit of those suggestions.

You have an ability to see the big picture—not just how things are, but how they could be—in a variety of situations.

Generally, you believe that you control your life, and that external forces only play a limited role in determining what happens to you.

If you want to be different:

Have faith that your imagination and practicality will complement each other, and lead to good decisions on your part.

Take the initiative in seeking things out—don't wait for them to come to you.

how you relate to others:

You are Cautious

Being independent, practical, and somewhat guarded with others makes you CAUTIOUS.

You tend to keep to yourself, wary of trusting others with personal information.

The values that you hold are central to your identity—you are a very principled person.

You have respect for the natural order of things, and a good sense of right and wrong.

Investigating the world through observation, as opposed to interaction, is preferable to you.

You have an appreciation for those who have attained a certain level of accomplishment, particularly the rare few who have succeeded honestly.

You are efficient—when you work with others, you get down to business, and fulfill your obligations.

You sometimes wish that others would be more like you—less hindered by their emotions, more respectful, and more private.

If you want to be different:

Finding a few close others whom you can trust will allow you to express yourself more openly, and possibly to learn more about yourself.

2008-02-15T22:54:00.005+08:00

I am loved.

Valentine's Day has come and gone and this year, I have quite the haul.

The is the first (and hopefully not last!) time I got so many many goodies. On one hand, I didn't know so many people cared. And on the other, there were quite a few disappointments.

Some people I was expecting to give me something - anything - didn't. Some people just out of the blue dug into their bags and gave me candy. To all those who contributed to my precious booty shown above, thanks. I'll never be able to eat everything asap without turning into one gigantic pimple, but ya. You get the idea.

Valentine's Day isn't bad for a day honouring some priest who dedicated his life to performing marriages. Especially when it replaces Lupercalia, a Roman festival where teenagers got together and had sex all day long. Fortunately (or unfortunately), Valentine's Day today is very much tamer. Indeed, it's become a celebration of consumerism, a partner of Christmas.

Today is actually also the first day of OGL camp for the J1 leaders. Crashed the mass dance session partnering Yu Feng and later Tommy, doing 'Geeks', 'Rock Around The Clock', 'Ain't It Funny' and 'Pop Ye Ye'. Tommy got super high doing his favourite activity: mass dance. When I pushed him away during 'Ain't It Funny', he got 'upset' and indignantly walked out of the hall, shouting at the top of his voice. Crazy stuff.

Freaking tired this week. Even though I slept early on Monday night, I still was as tired as hell on Tuesday. In the end, I decided since anyway I'll still be tired and sleepy no matter how much sleep I get, I might as well get a little sleep and spend the extra time doing work. And so I did. Several tutorials cleared, with significantly less blank spaces this week. Although I did doze off once or twice without realising it (dangerous trait of mine) during lectures, overall I quite like the results. I think I will continue this next week.

You know, thinking back to me this week, the logical conclusion I reached is that I died a few days ago and somebody reanimated my corpse. Must utilise irritatibilty to keep myself functioning from now on.

2008-02-09T23:21:00.000+08:00

Today was educationally enriching.

Sorry for not updating faithfully despite the holidays. Terribly busy with outings, homework and more outings, ya? I'm the most un-Chinese Chinese hence the lack of Chinese New Year celebrations. (Between you and me, I'm in it for the hong baos :)

Went to the National Museum today with Hema to sketch the Greek masterpieces on display. Thank the Louvre for undergoing renovations so (part of) their priceless collection would get loaned out. Despite having to pay an outrageous price of $4 for mere entry, the exhibits were worth it.

Just want to note here that for its sake, the National Museum had better be adding more exhibits and wings soon. Yesterday, because of the Chinese New Year holiday, the entire place was open to the public for free. Skipping the History Gallery because of the queue which rivalled that for the MacDonalds' Hello Kitty dolls, I went to the Food and Photography Galleries. The displays there were very nice but rather lacking in content. Indeed, many of the artefacts on display were actually from Malaysia or from Malaysians who moved to Singapore after the war.

The intriguing thing is access to all galleries costs $10 for an adult, mind-bogglingly expensive, in my opinion, for such measly offerings. When I was living in New Zealand, the Auckland War Museum alone cost only NZ$5 (roughly the same in Sing dollars) and was jammed full of artefacts, all original and all ancient. There were Maori canoes and weapons, settlers' tools, war medals, moa skeletons, stuffed native animals, war memorabilia, an entire Japanese Zero plane... The great memorial wall recording for posterity the names and faces of those who never came home from war was up there too. There was even a section on the Holocaust which featured authentic Stars of David once worn by German Jews. It was impossible to take in the entire museum in one day. You needed at least a week to read every plaque, see every artefact and digest every scrap of information. (I know, I did it.)

But I digress.

This blog post is supposed to be about the National Museum of Singapore. Granted, the country is much younger than New Zealand. But please, please stuff it with more content so that the people of Singapore get their money's worth of education and heritage.

I made three sketches, of beautiful sculptures of Ares, Aphrodite and Apollo which I immediately hated. What struck me that the great majority of these gorgeous sculptures are all Roman copies of Greek originals and those copies were themselves 2,000 years old. Adding variety were numerous funeral steles, terracotta jars, tablets, ancient Barbies...

Below are some of the highlights of the exhibition, taken rather inexpertly by me.

Funerary lion, sculpted for an Attican tomb.

Minerva (Athena), goddess of wisdom.

The Borghese Ares, god of war.

An athlete taking part in the discus event.

Apollo the Lizard-Slayer.

Eros, god of love.

The Borghese Aphrodite, by the same artist of the Ares above.

Another statue of Aphrodite, in another style.

Stele depicting Orpheus' parting from Eurydice, with Hermes on the far left. This piece is remarkable for the anguish of separation, so poignantly portrayed here.

Oh yah, in case you are either blur or you are so captivated by the brilliantness of my blog entry, you'd have noticed my new blogskin. The theme is 'mug til death' and not Sweeney Todd :) It suits me just fine since I am indeed bogged down with holiday homework and will most likely be writing until I bleed all over the page. Whoopee. Well, at least red is an auspicious colour. *smiles*

2008-02-06T22:54:00.000+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year, everybody!

OG 7!

Another shot.

Today's Chinese New Year celebrations were quite fun. Turned out that volunteering myself to give Ms Loh the oranges paid off...literally. The school gave all the teachers hong baos to give us students in exchange for the similarly school-sponsored oranges. The cash is merely a token, though. Nothing to shout or brag about.

The attendance for my class was kind of pathetic. As we predicted, only some of the leaders showed up, and attendance was less than half. Nevertheless, we all had a ball camwhoring with Ms Eleen Tan.

After joining my class for the yee sang, us OGLs dashed off to join our beloved campers for their yee sang. Later, as is normal for all JJ gatherings, we had a mass dance session. The AVAC screwed up again for 'Five Colours', like it did during YOG. I think it's the CD's problem, not the speakers or the players. Anyhow, the gadgets ought to be boosted. :)

Boo to Mr Leow. He gave us holiday homework. Not that I really expected not to have any, but, well. It's the principle of it I dislike. The words 'holiday' and 'homework' ought to be banned! No major issue for me. I'm super untraditional, so won't really be celebrating nor observing the customs and traditions.

After the celebrations, went to Cathay Cineleisure Orchard with Hema for master-cat bonding. The bus ride there from school was terribly taxing. Imagine being choked to death by a sea of J1s from the various 'elite' junior colleges dotted along the 174 bus route for about half an hour. Glennda went with us but could only stay for lunch. Saw '27 Dresses', which happens to be a damn good movie. Starring Katherine Heigl as the perpetual sweet bridesmaid, this movie was pretty routine in terms of plot for a romcom (romantic comedy), but rocked in principle. The gags and jokes were good, not slapstick or cliched. A must-watch when you have the time and when you don't.

We went to HMV both before and after the movie to drool over the new music releases. Looked for the movie soundtrack so we can groove along to that Elton John song a very drunk Jane and Kevin were rocking out to. Were sadly unsuccessful, though we will eventually lay our hands (or our paws) on the songs thanks to the power of online downloading, ya?

Came home and got started on the evil holiday homework before I gave up and got stuck in American Idol and the Internet. (Bad, bad May Ching.) Looks like I will be slacking for the rest of this break.

2008-02-02T12:46:00.000+08:00

Busy life.

Really tired this week, I ran like crazy.

Monday: 2.4km
Tuesday: PC and 2hrs squash training
Wednesday: 3 hrs squash
Thursday: 2.0km, 3 hrs squash training
Friday: Class BBQ

And my secondary school friend was so charming.

Her: Eh, May Ching, why you never pick up the phone?
Me: I was sleeping, I'm very tired. [Explains why]
Her: Wah, I didn't know you could run!
Me: o.o
Her: [Pause] I mean, I didn't know you can run like siao!

What the heck, well anyway I was not known for my athletic prowess back in secondary school.

I read somewhere that squash is the healthiest sport in the world and 1 hr of squash burns 3,000 to 4,000 calories. That is a freaking lot, considering that running a few rounds only burns up to a few hundred. And squash is so fun, after a while you don't notice how tired you are as you charge after the ball for the nth time. Unfortunately, for all its benefits, squash is a young sport 'cos it's a high-intensity sport.

My hand almost dropped off yesterday. First thing in the morning, we had GP TCA, a full comphrehension paper. Scribbling away frantically, I dashed off an AQ which crawled off the page and onto a sheet of foolscap paper. Pray I don't fail AQ again. Next, after a makan break, went for Bio SPA trial. The weirdest SPA trial I ever had, because we were allowed to bring our notes into the lab. SO it was write write write, doing up a full Skill C and D lab report.

And Abdillah kept bugging me during Chem lecture. I shall not go into details here, but leave it at that.

This week has also been rather emotionally tiring for me. For one, I have two leeches attached to my wallet, taking advantage of my overgenerosity. For Dog's sake, I ain't that rich with plenty of cash to distribute to the masses. My pocket will have to go on a strict diet from now on.

Your Personality is Very Rare (INTP)

Your personality type is goofy, imaginative, relaxed, and brilliant.

Only about 4% of all people have your personality, including 2% of all women and 6% of all men
You are Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

2008-01-27T22:45:00.000+08:00

Going back to blogging.

Last Friday, there was a mass dance session for J1 OGLs. Yingming, Glennda, Weixiang and I happily crashed. Yeah! I think we still got the Orientation fever.

It was just like old times, ya. Cute little OGLs (cannot call them campers anymore) standing in their pairs, agog at the emcees on stage. Pearlyn's successor (I think her name is Gadis) did a great job, as well as this guy I remember standing beside me during Song-singing.

First, we warmed up with 'Pump It'! Us senior OGLs went crazy, shaking it like nobody's business. I had loads of fun dancing with a cute Games Shadow named Andrew. A bit surprising to find Evan and Yufeng on stage teaching, though. Would have expected Zheyuan's or Jasmine's successor up there already. But who really cares? As long as they're learning, there's plenty of time to get up there. And learning they are. Later, during family time, I spotted some SCDC shadows practicing 'Five Colours' enthusiastically, so much so the guy kept kicking the wall whenever he hopped backward. You go, guys!

Much to our (OGLs) surprise, the next song was 'Rock Around The Clock'. Little rusty at that one. I ended up ditching poor clueless Andrew to dance with Gerald. To set the record straight here, I , for the life of me, cannot understand why he and Peng Tiong are such undesirable dance partners. Gerald and I had a fantastic time screwing up the song. :)

Just to put here, the J1s are incredibly cute. The councillors and teachers did a great job initiating the J1s. When some of my fellow OGLs walked in and joined me by the side (they were all girls), a few guys stopped gay dancing and walked up to them.

"Seniors, would you like to dance? Some of us need a partner."

How sweet! I accepted, of course.

I had to skip off around that time, though. I was late for freaking squash. When I came back, they were learning 'Pop Ye Ye', an old mass dance which unfortunately had not been passed down to my batch. I don't care if it skips a generation, just as long as it gets handed down. Same for the next song I don't know the title of, but it gave me a hell of a time learning the moves.

2008-01-25T22:21:00.000+08:00

Dramafest is over!!!

Big thanks to everybody involved, cast, crew... you know who you are. :) We shared a lot of ups and downs (you called me a barking bitch, Abbie?!) but we came through anyway.

Maggie, Rachel and Max pose with royalty.

Me, ah ma, Rashal and Hui Fang.

The guys look a little intimidated here...

Ken and Jonathan with their Royal Highnesses.

Love your hair, Hui Yee!

Posing in the dark.

H1 students! (Plus Ms Lin) We rock!!!

Liu Xuan has some issues with my directing.

Elwin and Sarah in action.

And the Best Rock Star goes to...Elwin!

2008-01-21T22:36:00.000+08:00

Happy 18th birthday monster Desmy!

Last year, we only knew each other after both our birthdays had passed. Both from OG4, but different camps (CAMPER!!!). Though you're a self-proclaimed monster who bites, you're still my good friend.

Attacked with cake.

Literally having your cake and eating it too.

2008-01-20T21:53:00.000+08:00

Finally up and blogging!

Happiness although my life is super busy and packed right now. Between stomping around in fits of anger and seeing the new Shadows, I haven't really got much time to blog these days. Now it seems to be a good time to post photos (though a little old). The following are from the Youth Olympic Games support session (at least, that's what I think it's called).

Amanda crashed this photo!!!

The leaders of OG7!

Now that I look back on it, this photo's actually kind of scary.

Cherie and me (the light's kinda bad)

Light's better. Me and Vivien :)

The new cat in JJ, christened 'Nugget', shows off her cattitude.

Family 2 is the love!!!

Part 2 of my beach art series...

Well anyway, the so-called massive OGL and camper outing to Sentosa was yesterday. Here's what we decided to do. Did crazy things like throwing people into the water and doing mass dance everywhere.

Other than such exciting times, the homework is practically obscene. I find it damn stressful to try and finish everything before the deadline but it's NOT FREAKING EASY. Raaah.

2008-01-10T21:34:00.000+08:00

I so do not enjoy Maths.

Supposed to be mugging for a Binomial and Poisson Distributions class quiz tomorrow, courtesy of Mr Leow.

I spent about 2 hours in school studying but for some mysterious reason, I can't get the answersto the simplest questions but yet am able to solve some of the tough ones. Go figure.

The design of this year's Orientation shirt isn't half bad, I feel like getting one for myself. Bit sad though, I heard they're going for $10 apiece and J2s can only buy them only after Orientation 2.

Speaking of Orientation 2, the response to the call for leaders has been pretty lukewarm from what I've seen so far. I was personally shocked when my friend said that not just OGLs were wanted, but Shadows as well. Um, hello, I thought that my batch was the last batch.

At first, I thought none of my campers who took the leader applicant forms actually filled it out, which is kinda depressing. Until later, I found out that some of them actually did put in application forms. That's good, because that means I and my fellow OGLs don't suck at our job.

I can't help but wonder: did my batch of OGLs really suck? I remember last year, after Orientation 1 when the call came out for OGLs the hall was packed with people. The leaders now are certainly numerous, but not in the droves that was during my time.

Anyway, my birthday came and went. A lot more attention this year, and the first time in a long time that I had to make a wish and blow out the candle(s). Happiness abound, though hardly any presents. :P

2008-01-07T17:53:00.000+08:00

A little early for me to update.

But anyway... I'd better do it now, in the early evening before my mum has a fit about me not studying because THIS YEAR IS 'A' LEVEL YEAR. Don't you just want to scream?

The first day of school was... rather uneventful. No big upsets or whatever, it was just as though there never really was a 3 month holiday. Except for the fact that my batch has become the graduating seniors. Now when the teachers address the J2s, it takes a while for me to think, "Oh! I'm J2 now!" Not a good thing. It seems like I'm in denial of A Levels. GOODNESS.

Today, all the OGLs seem to want to do is to compare campers. It's not a good thing, but well, it happens. But interestingly enough, all the conversations seem to run like this:

1st OGL: How are your campers?
2nd OGL: [Smiles] They're very cute, leh! Yours?
1st OGL: Oh! [Smiles] Mine also very cute!

Apparently, the word 'cute', when applied to the new J1s, does not mean 'sweet faced'. It carries a meaning only fellow OGLs can understand which I imagine is 'charming, adorable, sweet, lovable' and many many more adjectives. One of my classmates blew up when she kept getting the same reply from all her OGL friends.

"Why you all keep saying that they're cute?! They're only one year younger than us, how cute can they be?"

Ah, bless.

Mr Leow was right when he said that us OGLs and councillors need some time to assimilate back into normal student life. We're all still very high and filled with camp spirit. Why, today during PC, when we were running the warm-up 3 rounds, someone started shouting "Yi ba undeneh..." and instantly all the OGls and councillors within earshot started cheering. No joke. Complete with hand actions and 'Mai sua!' until we all ran out of breath to do the third round. Everybody else kept staring at us and shaking their heads but I don't care. It was great fun. And later on in Culture Studies, we had nothing to do. Someone suggested we play some games and immediately...

OGL: [Hand gestures]XI NIU NAI! XI NIU NAI!
Other OGLs: [All doing together with hand gestures] MEI YOU NAI! X2 HEN TUO NAI! X2 HE NIU NAI! X2...

And the best part was the looks on the faces of the non-leaders. We OGLs laughed until we were bloody blue in the face.

I saw practically all of my campers today, and all were telling me about the big holes in their timetables today. That really brought back memories of my PAE period so very long ago. Poor things. They don't get to enjoy as long a free time as my batch did, and their own juniors will have it worse.

Then again, the government thinks it's practical because they waste much less time slacking around. Out of secondary school straight into junior college, chop chop. But I, having experienced a little of the Western style of holistic education, feel that they should have some time to play around. Like this period, they can go and crash others' lectures and even cross streams, with arts students sneaking into science lectures and et cetera. It's like a no-strings-attached sampler of the many different subjects offered in JC before they decide whether it's really what they want to do for their A Levels. Plus, it's great bonding time for the classes as they sit around stoning as they wait for their next lecture. :)

My birthday is coming very very soon! :)

2008-01-06T18:42:00.000+08:00

Wooh.

I haven't posted in AGES. Now 2007 is finally gone and so is Orientation 1.

What a wild week (and a little bit) this has been. Even though the orientation camp was from the 3rd to the 5th of January, I actually camped in school from the night of the 1st onwards. Home never looked so good. :)

The batch of J1s this year is so adorable, so much better than my batch. Of course, my OG, OG 7, is the most adorable of all. And Family 2 is the best family. *proud* Well, of course we are one JJ family, but well... you know.

The camp is as fun as I expected it to be with a few surprises here and there... Well, as fun as it gets on an average of 3 hours of sleep a night. But I'm not complaining.

At least the Night Games were damn fun. My OG JUST missed out on catching the murderess by a minute but we had a real blast anyway.

Until now, I still can't believe O1 is finally over... but then there's )2 to look forward to, I can't wait to see my grand campers :)

Plus, my birthday's coming up this Wed... I share my birthday with 2 of my campers, how cool is that?!

OG 7 rocks! You guys are the best!

2007-12-28T16:42:00.000+08:00

Gosh I'm buggered.

Just came back from OGL camp. The place where we receive the training needed to survive Orientation 1 as a fully-fledged OGL.

As usual, I'm exhausted both physically and mentally. I knew I was already out of shape thanks to the school holidays and weeks of relative inactivity, but thanks to the Night Games, I am completely, totally whacked.

Night Games is already damn notorious for making wash-up prior to it pointless, but this one really did it for me. I finished the night soaked, panting and red inh the face, almost ready to call in to the Command Centre sick.

However, as much as I abhor strenous physical activity (kind of strange, considering I keep on signing on for JJ camps), this Night Games was especially fun. We played a Cluedo rip-off, the objective of which was to discover who killed Hu Nakamura (out of 5 suspects) where using what. Great fun.

That was one of the high points of the camp. Low points include the scolding Mr Chua gave us after Kinetic Warfare and the irritating fire drill. Though we haven't reached true OGL status yet, I certainly hope we are on the way. Okay, I should shut up now.

Lights out was at 1 am and we were rudely awakened at 4 am for a fire drill. Just like old times in Orientation 2. The difference was that I was a Shadow then and I'm an ordinary OGL now. That didn't really matter, considering that I was exactly the same during those two drills: exhausted and blurry. Things change, no matter how much they stay the same.

But the good thing was I discovered my sixth sense. Way too early this morning, I had already anticipated a fire drill. When the siren sounded, I was up and getting ready before I realised I was awake. This can be a handy skill exclusively for fire drills. =)

Anyway, back home in one piece, apart from some very, VERY minor injuries (mild rope burn, scrapes and bruises). But this is merely the first step in a series of never-ending events, before it all grinds to a screeching halt next week. I won't be updating as frequently anymore, I need to study for that (thankfully postponed) gosh-swoggled Maths test next Monday. Raah.

2007-12-24T22:16:00.000+08:00

And today is Christmas Eve.

Don't know why I bother writing this, it's not like the traffic on my blog is overwhelmingly exciting or anything like that.

Heard a rumour yesterday that OGLs have a Maths test this week. Will not disclose any further details lest I get done for leaking secrets. And we all certainly don't want that to happen, now, won't we?

Spent my day hanging out in school busy with play rehearsal. Now if only I can get the entire cast together in one room... The only time that'll happen is the actual day of the play itself, sometime next week/year.

Speaking of attendance, that is one quirk here that really seems to annoy me. People always, always always show up late. For some reason.

In a country where time is so important, being one of the few resources it has, the people seem to have plenty of it to spare. For example, when the time to meet is set at 10 am, it's considered perfectly normal to show up at 10.15 am without an explanation. Indeed, I have known people, supposed to meet at 9 pm, call at 9.20, saying that they'll be there at 9.30 and finally show their sorry faces at 10.15 pm.

I am definitely a punctuality freak. I'm not ashamed of it. I once told off my friends for arriving for a meeting 15 minutes late. But I think that agreeing to meet a person at an appointed time constitutes making a commitment, and making a commitment isn't something that you take lightly. I'm an anal-retentive, tight-arsed wound tight as a miser's pocket. But would you rather have someone who is there 10 minutes before the appointed time and tells you off for being 5 minutes late? Or someone who finally shows one hour late with minimal apology for making you wait. (The latter really happened to me, the former is... well, it's me.)

2007-12-22T18:57:00.000+08:00

Once, there was a boy named John. One day, his father, a confectioner, gave him a large bag of sweets he had just created that day. John was about to eat the entire bag immediately when his father stopped him and gave him a lecture about the value of sharing.

John took the lecture to heart and the next day, took the bag of sweets to school with him. He spent his breaktime walking around the classroom offering each of his classmates one, which they gratefully accepted.

He went home that day with the empty bag, glowing with happiness after being roundly praised by his teacher for being so generous. His parents also heaped praises on him after hearing what he had done.

This went on until John was transferred to a new school a month later when his parents moved. On his first day, he proudly brought a big bag of sweets to share with his new classmates.

During breaktime, John got up and began offering his new classmates the sweets. This time, however, every single one of them refused the sweets. Some said they were full, some didn't like the flavour of the sweets and some said that their parents had forbidden them from eating sweets. John went home that day terribly upset. He was so used to sharing his delicious sweets with others.

The next day, he proffered the bag of sweets to his neighbour again, who politely refused. This time, John grabbed the smaller boy by the collar and threatened to beat him if he refused to take the sweet. Terrified, John's neighbour took and ate one sweet. This continued until each child in the class had eaten one sweet each and John's bag was empty. He went home overjoyed that he had successfully shared his sweets, not caring about the unhappy faces of his classmates.

A week passed, until Michael, John's classmate could take it no more. When John made his rounds of the class with his sweet bag, Michael firmly refused it.

"You can't force me to take a sweet against my will," said Michael.

John immediately fell upon Michael and started beating him up. The two boys were still fighting when the teacher walked in. Who do you think the teacher sided with? John, who wanted only to share the delicious sweets his father made? Or Michael, who was beat up by John for refusing to take a sweet?

2007-12-21T21:14:00.000+08:00

This post is long overdue (sorry guys) but it was meant to be crammed with photos. Unfortunately *shoots meaningful glare at empty space where my laptop used to be* my laptop has died.

Unbelievable. Less than a week after being upgraded (processor speed memory being doubled), the thing breaks down. The best part has to be that the broken bit isn't some unfathomable problem of the inner workings of the computer that only qualified computer geeks can solve but a mere mechanical problem: the charging socket fell out.
No charging socket, no charging the laptop.

Currently, this post is being hammered out on the ancient desktop in my house (which is hardly used). How ancient is it? The wretched thing is a Windows 98.

Moving on the events more bloggable, today was the 'mass dance & cheers remedial session' for the OGLs. Most people would mention the level of spirit here, but not me. I couldn't care less about trifles like this, in my most humble opinion. Let the others worry about spirit. My concern is whether they are able to perform for Orientation 1 itself.

Today, I finally mastered the 2008 batch dance. It's not so bad, in retrospect, but I do concede that there are more complicated turns and twirls then the other mass dances of JJ. An interesting blend of familiar moves like 'cats' eyes' and 'brushing hair' together with partner techniques that make the dance more sophisticated than simpler dances, like 'Superstar', for instance.

Other than that, saw Desmy for the first time all December. Can't say I missed her though *grins* But seriously, meeting up with people you haven't seen in donkey years is always great.

Tomorrow morning I'm busy again, another Dramafest meeting which clashes beautifully with another inpromptu banner painting session. I'm at my wits' end, trying to get everybody to come for these meetings, REPEATEDLY REMINDING THEM FORCEFULLY THAT THEY ARE COMPULSORY. Yes, I am shouting because I'm damn frustrated. Raah, must go and get the final script ready for the meeting.

2007-12-15T00:06:00.000+08:00

Early this morning (way early, around 1 am), I was attacked by a loathsome creature.

I was peacefully reading a novel in bed, with my bedside lamp on when I noticed something flutter out of the corner of my eye. When I glanced to the side, I spotted a HUGE bug alternately crawling and flying around my lampstand.

To my credit, I didn't wake the entire neighbourhood with my screams. Instead, I leapt off the bed in the opposite direction from the bug with a few choice swear words in English, Malay and Cantonese. (At times like these, my parents' fights come in handy in teaching me useful and appropriate vocab.)

The bug was unperturbed, saucily hovering around my Harry Potter poster and apparently trying to hump Daniel Radcliffe.

Seeing red, I seized the nearest weapon on hand (a rolled-up poster wrapped in plastic) and swung it at the offending insect. It dodged all my wild strokes easily, flying madly around the room and finally coming to rest on the ceiling, where I could not reach it.

The crazy bugger.

I lost it then. I called in the heavy artillery: my sister. Armed with my poster and she with a bumper puzzle book (nasty thick thing), we launched another assault (i.e. we waved our weapons wildly in the general direction of the bug and squealed when it got too close). Finally, the beleaguered bug dashed for cover under my bed and no amount of poking and banging could induce it to come out.

Fed up, I went back to bed, this time with the bumper puzzle book on hand to wait for it to come out and cavort in my face again. I then remembered what was so freaky about this bug: One, my mum had just only killed several similar ones that afternoon but those were tiny things; two, I recalled watching this B-grade horror movie where an entire town got devastated by a swarm of killer insects which resembled this particular monster quite closely. I wanted to shriek.

At last, the little monster showed its ugly face again, making a dive for my face. I started swinging at it with the puzzle book when suddenly, BAM! I felt the book make contact with the bug in one massive swipe and the bug fluttered to one corner of the room.

Time to dispose of it. Interestingly, it was still alive when I scooped it up into a dustpan so I decided to flush it down the toilet.

Headed to a watery grave.

The bloody insect survived two flushings and was finally gone the next morning.

2007-12-14T00:07:00.000+08:00

Today was game trial cum mass dance session for OGLs. I went, despite nursing a dodgy gut.

Nothing out of the ordinary today, everything went as JJ events always do.

We learned a new dance, next year's batch dance to the song 'The Geeks Get The Girls'. Really complicated, with loads of turning and changing position, especially for the girls. I was feeling dizzy already from all that spinning, and I was dancing the guy's part. Imagine the time I'll have when I dance the girl's part.

Anyway, the process of learning mass dance is always great fun, 'specially when your partner's as bad as you are. Siti Nazeha and I had a fabulous time turning and posing 'til we wanted to either puke or die laughing. We were always either a beat too fast or too slow.

Before we learnt the new stuff, we did 3 old favourites: Pump It, Oh My Darling and Five Colours. As usual, I danced like a maniac.

Hope I can grasp the steps for this new dance before Orientation. I'm really, really slow at learning dances (caused my Westzone 1 family to pull their hair out) and my family hasn't even started choreographing our family dance. Go figure.

After all that, we had the usual OGL debrief. Won't say anything about it here lest I catch it again but nothing of great importance happened, other than the OGL camp being postponed to the 27th and 28th. Also, apparently we were so bad, there's going to be another mass dance practice next week, on the 21st. Hope the dance steps don't leak out of my head before then, I don't fancy having to relearn the dance from scratch.

Other than waiting for events like these, I'm bored stiff. I even feel like finding and doing more of Mr Leow's Maths worksheets, that's how bored I am. *grins* I'm not allowed to get a job, my parents want me to concentrate on my studies, and my friends are busy. Argh, I might not survive these hols, man.

2007-12-12T22:48:00.000+08:00

And the photos begin here. The captions will have to be significantly toned down in the light of recent events.

A group photo (taken by me) of my Malaysian gang :)

My beloved laptop got completely overhauled. Here's the original hard drive (actually, it kind of reminds me of the way Japanese samurai hold their intestines after committing seppuku)

The debris left behind...

...And the finished product: my beautiful desktop totally wiped clean.

I know that the food in Malaysia is dangerous (think diarrhoea from dirty hawker centres)...

...but this is ridiculous! (Note ice chip protruding from ice cream)

Me and my best guy friend Jian Fei (since I was seven).

The lake around which I grew up.

It had been raining heavily non-stop, and Genting is really, really misty.

How will we get back to the car?!

On the other hand, the winnings are lucrative! (719 tickets in total in the picture)

Sorely tempted to take it home to Singapore.

This one as well.

That's all for now, I guess.

2007-12-12T22:23:00.000+08:00

Before I launch into the photo-filled account of my return to Malaysia, I would like to post something else here.

The post I uploaded on the 28th (understandably) generated a lot of controversy and caused the proverbial raised hackles for the injured parties mentioned.

After a in-depth discussion of the issues dealt with in the post, I am posting a full apology for the hurtful and upsetting comments that I have made.

Although I concur that I should not have posted such a tirade online (bearing in mind the furore over blog contents in popular media), this is not a retraction. Posting the piece was, for me, a crude, tactless, yet effective method of ensuring that my ire reaches the targeted audience.

I stand by every word I wrote, despite it being against my better judgement to post it in the first place. All the words were chosen with care and the sentences crafted to best express how I feel.

Thank you, and have a nice day.

2007-12-11T09:06:00.000+08:00

Hey.

Just a quick note here to let everybody know that this blog ain't dead.

A photo-loaded post will be up by either tomorrow night or Wednesday.

2007-11-30T15:37:00.000+08:00

Life right now is a bit of a drag.

Hema is back from Australia, yay! On the other hand, Cherie has gone to China. All these members of the Muggers' Gang coming and going makes outings darn difficult to organise. Everybody's busy with their own stuff, plus Zheyuan and Ching Khang are busy working. The rate it's going at, the next Muggers' outing with 99% attendance (at least) will be next year, after 'A'-Levels.

Grad Night was a few days ago. I was considering crashing it to see my dear seniors but well, I wouldn't want to spoil their evening. :) Jokes aside, I was busy that night.

Right this minute, as I type this blog entry, a mini-mountain of holiday homework sits in front of me. Ugh, how I loathe it. Really feeling really lazy, for some reason. It's a good thing I'm going back to Malaysia next week to spend some time catching up with my buddies, at least I can slack with minimum guilt (since I don't have to see that wretched pile of paper all the time). Despite my terrible reluctance to work, I am gradually inching my way through, albeit at a handicapped snail's pace.

Due to some vocal feedback on my last post (to be more accurate, its content), future posts will either be lukewarm and neutral or have my sentiments very cleverly hidden between the lines.

Oh, and thanks to Germaine and Glennda for your support. :)