Sunday 27 December 2009

Succumbing to the Night

I feel confused, deep inside
Where to go, left or right
Everywhere I turn there's no escape

I try to hide myself
Flee from the things I fear to face
Why can't I stand up strong and brave?

The darkness inside consumes me
Fills me, draws me into it
Should I succumb? Should I resist?

To protest would be the right choice
But my soul is tempted beyond all doubt
I feel drawn into the dark

I watch it take over
I watch it pull me in
And I will never be alone

Tuesday 15 December 2009

Can The Arms of Mercy Bring Rescue?

I am at my breaking point.

I just need someone to pull me out.

Escape theories. Avoidance mechanisms. Loosely translated as submerging myself in the fantasy world. It's the only thing that keeps me sane. I am this close to snapping like a rubber band.

One day I am going to buy a large house and I will be the only one living there. One person in a big house might seem a bit out of sorts for you, but trust me, it's the only way I can survive. I need space and peace and quiet, and the only time I will break that silence is when I play music on this turntable in the library. Then I will settled down on the couch, with a glass of red wine or whiskey or scotch or bourbon and I will pick up a book and read while Time to Say Goodbye is playing in the background. And I will feel calm and at peace and I will not want to leave the house ever.

It's very likely that none of you who are my friends will ever get an invitation to my house, current or future. It's not personal; it's just that I am very possessive and territorial and I don't like people enroaching on my territory. In this future scenario, I will most likely become a recluse and will probably never marry. As a result, I will die alone.

The morbidity of my thoughts signify how close I am to loosing control.

And that's something I'd rather not experience.

Story of Life

Hello, all.

Fasten your seatbelts for the inane story of my life.

With the Christmas cheer in the air, I'm feeling a lot more charitable than I usually am. It's just the little things though, like letting my sister play a game on the laptop after she's tired of studying for her exam, not to mention that I felt guilty for hogging the laptop for the better part of most day and needed to take a break from the radiation that was attacking my tired eyes anyway.

However, I'm starting to feel bored. I can summarise my time spent online with several links: Ashwinder, youtube, tv.com, wikipedia, fanfiction.net and of course, my blog which links me to other people. I'm not very outgoing (although I am, apparently, social) but I'm starting to have cabin fever. And it's very frustrating. So the only way to occupy my time is to work on my story which I have yet to find a proper title for.

Again, it's very frustrating, but I'm making some progress with it. Instead of jumping into it headlong like I used to do, as in putting my characters in the story as though they've been doing this for years, I've decided to use a more natural approach, where they start out together, go through the same courses and training and stuff. There would probably be a lot of cat-fights but there might not. It's just a thought.

Another reason for my frustration is the fact that I don't get to see the friends I want to talk to online. They'll come on a while and then log off, leaving me with a feeling of unsatisfaction. Those who come online are people who can't keep up with me, which is because I use a lot of non sequiturs (which I just recently realised).

Word of the Day: Non sequitur
Meaning: A statement (as a response) that does not follow logically from or is not clearly related to anything previously said.
In Other Words: Random.

Which is weird because I never thought of myself as being random. And besides I've got a touch of OCD, I think. Again, I've recently discovered how bad it was (seems like I've got too much time on my hands to discover stuff about me I knew but never put much thought into about) when I bought a new pencil box and realised that I had too much junk to place everything inside.

So my sis very helpfully commented, 'That should teach you to remove all your junk from your old pencil box. See, my pencil box so empty,' she waved a hand at her own. Which, I had to admit, had nothing more than 3 pens inside. I was impressed, but the effect was spoiled when she grinned cheekily. 'Haha, it's only like this cause the rest of my stuff is on the table.' One look at the table and I cowered at the number of pens and mechanical pencils scattered around. And she complains about my junk.

Since she was so "knowledgable" about stuff like these, I asked her advice on what to put into my new pencil box (yes, I'm lame that way), which turned into me picking out what I wanted and her criticising my choices. After I finished, she waved a hand. 'Then dump everything inside lah.'

I was horrified. 'Cannot! First must put the sharpener on the left side. Then put in the pens and pencils I don't use much, and on top that the ones I use a lot..'

She rolled her eyes. 'What's the point of the "pens and pencils you don't use much" then?'

I stared at her. 'Just in case.'

She gave me another eye roll.

See, I even need to categorise where to place my stationery in my pencil box! I'm that nuts!

Yippee!

On a lighter note, I was talking to my sis about this friend of mine who had texted me saying that he was slowly dying because he liked this girl, who he was getting closer to everyday but he knows he can't have her. My initial reaction was, Drama-nya! When I told my sis, who is an expert at scathing remarks (and I thought I was good, same level lah really, just diff way we express it) 'You should go tell him, I hope you die faster then!' Dunno if you get the joke but it was hilarious when she said it.

Oh, one more thing. In our biology paper 1 for SPM, there was this question where they gave use a picture of a certain stage in cell division and they asked us which stage was it: Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase or Telophase. It made quite an impact because it was so unclear no one could tell what it was.

Clearly it was still in everybody's mind when we came for our Chem tuition (ref last coupla posts). Mrs Foo was telling us about carbon compounds. It had this sub chapter where they were talking about coagulation of latex. So she drew out the diagram, which consisted of a large circle surrounded by negative ions (electrons) and inside the large circle (the latex) she drew several strands of lines all jumbled up together to signify the latex molecules. All of a sudden, some fella shouted, 'Teacher! Prophase!' The whole class burst into laughter.

Only after this class did I realise how Bio, Chem and Physics were tied together. To begin with, in Physics there are 3 gas laws: Boyle's Law, Charles' Law and Pressure Law. The general formula for this is PV/T. P for Pressure, V for Volume and T for Temperature in Kelvin.

For Boyle's Law, I remembered it by saying, Boyle has a fever, which means Temperature is constant, thus the equation is only PV. For Charles' Law, I said, Charles is under pressure, so you remove P from the equation and you get V/T. The last one left is, naturally, Pressure law.

So in chem class, Mrs Foo was telling us about rate of reaction. Then she went through all the experiments, how Ror increases when total surface area increases, stuff like that. One of it was pressure. When pressure increases, Ror increases. So Hui Yee asked if there was an experiment for that. Mrs Foo answered No, it's just in case they asked for structural. Then we've got our answers ready.

At this moment, the same guy said, 'Teacher, this one got experiment lah!'

Mrs Foo looked taken aback. 'What experiment?'

'Boyle's Law.'

Cheers.

Saturday 12 December 2009

Twelve, Twelve, Two Oh Oh Nine!!

Well, hello.

Alright, just downloaded Internet Explorer 8 so there's a mite change in my computer format and stuff (not that you can see it anyway) and it takes a bit getting used to (no flames from you Mozilla Firefox and such people).

What day is today?

It's my birthday! (Strangely enough, I keep pronouncing it like burf-day instead of birthday).

Yes, well, we went to eat Prosperity burger. Dunno if I'm very sheltered or something, which I think I am, but ever since the Prosperity burger came out ages ago (I think a few years back) I never got the chance to eat it. Yeah, I can hear you people out there saying I sangat outdate punya. Anyway, Mum's always like it so I thought, yeah, worth a try.

Looked at the set - gotta love those curly fries. A bit salty but they're oh-so-yummy. Then I unwrapped the burger and I raised my eyebrow at the excessive amount of black-pepper sauce. 'They very rich ah?' I asked my sis. She shrugged and continued eating.

So I took a bite and Whoosh! Spicy! Excessive pepper. I like black pepper and all but this is really a bit too much. Okay, I don't really like black pepper. I can handle it if it's just a tiny sprinkle but this is just too much lah. Kept inhaling Pepsi down my throat.

We went to Secret Recipe and got some cake for me. Sis had the Chocolate Strawberry while I got the Chocolate Indulgence (2 layers white choc one layer dark) but it's still in the fridge. Gonna eat it tonight and watch Mentalist.

Patrick Jane rocks. Naming my future son after him. Patrick, I mean. Not Jane, heaven forbid.

Well, I'm going off to do some stuffs so I'll leave this here, yeah?

Cheers.

Sunday 6 December 2009

Venting and Tuition

I'm not in a good mood today so let me vent without judging.

I hate people online who add me as a friend without even speaking to me. Don't quite understand? Let me give you a hint. I came online today and after weeks of eschewing Facebook, I finally logged in. Noticing the 2 new friend request on the sidebar I clicked on it to check it out. Two pictures came out and I felt like screaming.

The two people who just added me? They're not my friends at all. Yes, I understand we shouldn't judge and all that, that we must be friends with everyone, but seriously, these two people are two of the many schoolmates I've known by name only since Form 1 and have barely spoken ten sentences to them. Then, all of a sudden, they show up for a friend request.

I'm sorry if I'm breaking someone's heart but I get annoyed because I don't even know them. It irks me, really, that these people take stuff like friendship so lightly. Isn't it supposed to be some sacred bond? Now it seems like the "Add ___ As Your Friend" button is for people who think that, Yeah, we've been in the same school for years, I know who she is, that automatically makes her my friend.

A loud, resounding No is my answer.

You might think I'm thinking too much, reading too much in some harmless gesture, and maybe I am, but my mind can't stop analysing and criticising everything I come across. And so I will now take it one step further.

I will push the 'Ignore All' button that will clear my Facebook profile from all those annoying notices. Yes, including the two not-friends request, 1 group invitation, 6 page fan requests, and 100 applications.

It's done.

On a lighter note, we had our Chemistry tuition yesterday. It was from 10 am to 4 pm and it was long, but I managed to stay fresh, unlike certain people who had to chew gum to stay awake. (hehe, Wendy, that's you.)(No, Lou, it's not our Wendy, this is Wendy from BU4)

Was the first person to arrive. Was actually really scared I'd get there late cause Mrs Foo was combining both her Tuesday and Wednesday classes and I wanted to get a good seat. It was held in our Physics tuition class so I took my normal place.

Had a good start. She used two hours to go through Form 4 work, and there was a bit where she got a bit confused or something when she came to Salts, I think, cause she made a mistake.

Mrs Foo: Now, Zinc. Yellow when hot, white when cold. What about Lead?

It was brown when hot and yellow when cold, which was what the class was yelling. Maybe it was a bit of foot-in-mouth disease due to large number of students, but Mrs Foo said:

'Lead is brown when yellow.'

So the whole class, predictably, started laughing. Then it was nearing 12 o' clock, which was the time she let us off for a one and a half hours lunch break, when she asked us if there were any questions. Behind me, Elaine was murmuring,

'When we can go for lunch?'

So yeah, in the end we weren't sure where to lunch, so we followed the rest of the class down the stairs before we decided. Elaine and I talked about calling delivery, but she said she didn't want to eat McD. She told us of a newly-opened A&W instead, so we made our way there.

Initially it was me, Montri, Ben, Candice, Elaine and Wendy who were going, but TiMi and Kai Hsiang (did I spell his name right? And yes it's TiMi = Tim and Michelle) were a bit lost as to where to lunch so they tagged along. C, E and W got caught up in some clothes shop we walked past and went in. We weren't sure whether to wait for them or not but like Tim said, 'Like the pirates, whoever stays behind gets left behind!' we left them there and went on to A&W.


Bit hazy with directions but the A&W is in SS2 (duh!) and it's about the same row as the Tai Thong Dim Sum restaurant, opposite Eu Yan Sang. We went into A&W and were debating whether to order set or ala carte when Ben said, 'Order ala carte. I added it up, it's much cheaper than the set.' But I wanted to see what the others were eating so I turned around and asked TiMi and KH. 'Are you guys eating ala carte cause that's what we're having.'

Tim went, 'Huh? Ala carte? What's that?' Then his gf gave a lecture on him about how ala carte was just the item without the set and doesn't he know that? Apparently he's never heard of it before.

Then C, E and W joined us, but C and E said they didn't want to eat fast food so they'll walk around to find something else. Fine, then. Went ahead to order. Swung around to find that TiMi and KH had left as well. Montri was laughing.

'They left cause they no money!' I raised my eyebrow. Montri explained. 'Timothy opened his wallet and showed us he had no money!'

'Ask the gf pay for him lah,' I commented. Montri and Ben were laughing. 'She didn't bring money also. Wanted him to pay.'

Ye-ah.

So in the end it was just me, Montri, Ben and Wendy. And Wendy told us about the time the school called her dad up because she missed the Physics SPM test. Her dad ran frantically into her room and asked if she skipped the test. Turns out that she wanted to drop it but they didn't allow her to, so her HM suggested that she just not attend the test. Weird thing was, the school only called her dad after Paper 1 was over.

So we went back to tuition to find Elaine and Candice (who returned later) to be eating McD. Apparently they went to the market and all they sold there were raw fish and stuff so they had to revert back to McD.

Anyway, was feeling so tired after the whole tuition yesterday but at least it was productive.

Cheers.

Friday 4 December 2009

Exams Woes

Ah, finally! After 3 or so weeks of slaving for the dreaded SPM, I am back to update! I've got about 3-4 days of studying for my final exam which is *ching ching chin* CHEMISTRY!


To quote Lou, I've got chemistry with Chemistry. Oh yeah!

Bimbo moment over. Allow me that brief, fleeting second of insanity. In case you didn't know, SPM is a killer. Not that it's hard or anything (really, I find it easier compared to trials where I butchered my Add Maths) but it's the stress of the whole thing, how SPM is the one that determines your future and all that.

So, first paper: BM1, Sejarah 1 and BM2. I was frantic for BM1. I used my memory palace the day before to memorise 20 plus peribahasa (which I can still recite, I think, if you give me some time--such is the wonder of the memory palace). In the end, I didn't manage to use much of them, so, crossed fingers, hopefully I can get an A. Sejarah was relatively fine, BM 2, I managed to answer all the peribahasa questions! They mayn't be right but at least I (think) know what they were! Hurrah!

Second day was English 1, English 2 and Sejarah 2. English 1 - the essay - was a bit disappointing. I expected something better. The one word title - Beauty - and the story - End with "And we said goodbye and went our separate ways" - irked me. Firstly, the story's ending was shite, to put it politely. It was bound to be some soppy tale about two people meeting up, then realising they weren't meant for each other, and then end with the sentence above. It was so cliched, there wasn't much you could do with it. What else could you say? Then the one word title: Beauty. Melinda did something about feminine beauty, something of the sort, while Erina, being her usual despressing self, had to start with some character's death, who turned out to be her mum, and started talking about the mum's beauty.

I took a leaf out of my sister's book (she did something similar with the same title, just less adjectives and fancy words) and I wrote about this sorceress, Belle, who ruled a country as Queen. It was never said, but implied that at that time the country was weak and tidak maju. So I made her character strong and tough. Modelled her after Katie McGrath as Morgana in Merlin, who, if you haven't seen her picture (check my header), looks eeriely like the black-haired version of Keira Knightley. Really, when I saw her in Merlin my first reaction was, She looks so familiar. She reminds me of...OMG, don't tell me Keira dyed her hair for the show!!!

But no, it was Katie McGrath instead. And don't laugh, but I described Belle as "the product of an encounter with a vampire and Keira Knightley". I kid you not, I actually wrote that in my English SPM essay. The examiner's gonna laugh his ass off. So Belle's rumoured to be some wicked sorceress who rules with an iron fist. And her people call her Bellamorte (loosely translated as Killer of Beauty -- I made that up. Bella, Morte.) because they think that she killed virgins to steal their beauty and thus, forever remain mortal, because, according to them, how could someone with the face of an angel have a heart so black like she does?

"And that is incorrect, ladies and gentlemen!"

See, Belle's misunderstood. She's dark, but she realises that to memajukan her country, she has to establish it as a proud land who will not bow to defeat. Unfortunately, that meant being as evil as possible. It's kind of tough-love-ish, and as I'm tying this, I'm waiting for Miss Louise to call. Oi, what time you calling?

Anyway, the story starts with Ascarth, this tavern keeper who falsely accuses this peasant of stealing wine meant for the Sorceress Belle, and he gets her to throw the poor peasant in jail, even after the peasant begged for mercy, to which our girl replied, 'I value justice more than I value mercy.' But Belle means every word she said, and in the night she kills Ascarth for his wrongdoings, quoting her previous statement as she watched him die.

Up to here it takes up 3 pages, so I continued by saying she gave (anonymously) the tavern's money to the peasant's wife, and continues to rule her country as Iron Lady by day, avenging angel by night. Of course, no one knows about this, so it was only until after her death that people found her journal where she'd dictated everything she did. And people saw her in a new light, and erected statues, and every year there'd be a festival of Beauty, and her tale became the Legend of Beauty....

If it sounds cliched, yeah I know. Lack of inspiration. At least I wrote an out-of-the-box story, instead of people who write facts and what not. Could never stand them. Anyway, Sejarah 2 was a killer, especially in the essay bit where they asked about ciri-ciri Kerajaan Turki Uthmaniyah. I mean, I know a bit but not much and i'd rather not risk it lah. Third day was EST, went well, nothing much. What's there to talk about EST?

Then both Maths papers were relatively OK, same goes for Moral which I could do lah. Add Maths was the one that really got me worried. In case you didn't know, my Add Maths track record isn't exactly straight As. But it turned out relatively fine (note I'm using RELATIVELY).

Then the sciences came about. I needed to do well in Bio if I was going to take Biochemistry, and I found out that Zhuo Liang was planning to take that as well on he was taking his in Form 6 and me in college. Bio was tricky at points but again, relatively good. Physics, even though I wasn't a big fan of it even though I can do well if I study my arse off, was easy compared to Bio. I liked it very much. Now there's one last stop before we hit home free: Chemistry.

Now that academics are over, let's go to the laughs. For started, you wouldn't think that something so serious as SPM could garner laughs, could it? According to my sources from inside Bilik 2 (you know who you are!), things are boring and people pretend to study even though they actually aren't. Dunno if it applies to you but...Mine is Bilik 5 and we're freaking hilarious. I can't quite remember which paper was it, Maths or Add Maths, but everyone came back after the lunch break only to realise that someone was missing.

'Eh,' Examiner checked the name on the slip stuck on the table, 'Mana...Gerald Lim?' Yes, people have trouble pronouncing his name. Then everyone turned around, and the class started buzzing.

'Eh, where's Gerald? Why no one call him? Where he go?'

Class was buzzing like mad. Then the examiner suggested we call his house to check. 'Who is Gerald Lim's best friend?'

The class as one voice shouted, 'Darrel!' Gerald and Darrel sit together in class and everyone knows they're really good friends. Then, Nick Leong decided to start teasing. 'Eh, Darrel. Don't like that lah, dump Gerald like that. He's waiting for you at home you know.' And the whole class erupted into insinuations that Gerald and Darrel were together. Naturally we started laughing like crap, and the laughter increased when Gerald finally showed up. Even the examiner was laughing.

Moment 2. Happened only yesterday. See, I'm really grateful for my pals, and today I decided to tell Chiau Hui how grateful I am to be her friend and all that. I don't usually say stuff like that so it was a bit awkward - always felt like I was confessing my love ala BFG relationships. So in the canteen, I took a deep breath, looked at CH and said, 'Thank you very much for being my friend. I'm sorry for always losing my temper, and I thank you for being so understanding.'

She stared at me, and cried out, 'Are you migrating?' I had this really solemn voice on so I guess that's where she got her ideas. And at this point, I really couldn't resist so I nodded solemnly, and answered: Yes.

'What?' She genuinely looked shocked. 'When are you leaving?'

'Right after SPM in December,' I replied soberly. I was trying hard not to laugh, but it didn't work, so I settled for a I'm-Sorry-it-had-to-be-like-this, understanding sort of smile. That worked like a charm.

'Ha! And you tell me this now! Why can't you tell me after SPM? Now I can't concentrate.' And if you were there, you would've noticed how sad she looked. Really. I felt it. Felt almost guilty. Repeat, almost guilty.

Well, not really. I've got a lack of remorse. So, no, I felt no guilt at all.

We sat down, and she continued bombarding questions. 'Where are you migrating to?' she demanded. I didn't expect that so I fumbled a little bit (she didn't notice though), and crapped out: New Zealand. My relatives just returned from holiday there. Wanted to say Canada or something but my brain got ahead of me.

CH didn't relent. 'When you leaving?'

'On my birthday.' I even managed to inject some reluctance in my voice, like how much I didn't want to leave. Then her brow furrowed. 'I thought you were working for your mum on that day.' Yeah, helping out my mum for some sale thingy.

'Yeah I am,' I said deliberately. I could almost see the cogs in her head, piecing it together, and then... 'You're not migrating, are you?'

Smiling at her, 'Nope.' And got a whack on my arm for that. I was laughing though. She honestly thought I was migrating, and she was scolding me about that, but hey, at least it brought a bit of levity. Then I decided to do the same to Miss Erina, so I walked up to her, and used my solemn, someone-has-died voice and repeated what I told CH. Being the depressing girl she is (like I mentioned earlier), Erina gripped me by the shoulders (really!) and asked, 'Are you dying? You're not dying are you? You sound like you're dying. Don't die!' she wailed. OKlah, not wailed, but you get the point.

Then I was like, 'No I'm migrating.' That took her by genuine surprise. Her eyes widened. 'Seriously?' I nodded. 'Where to?' 'New Zealand.' She broke into a smile. 'Hey, when I migrate over I can see you.' Yes, she's most likely migrating to NZ after college or SPM. I nodded and smiled. Forgot what happened next, but then she turned at me and said. 'You're not migrating, are you?'

'No.' I replied cheekily. Don't mean to brag, but felt proud, really, taking them in. Erina gave a noise that was half-laugh, half-exasperated and she clutched her book. 'I should whack you lah.'

OK, number three. As you know, Physics paper 3, for the experiment bit, one was about the number of weights and the spring, which I looked at and was like, okay, can do, but let's see the other one first. Then I flipped the page, and KABOOM! It was solenoid! It was about, when the current increases the strength of magnetic field increases and the experiment was something about using a solenoid and a soft iron core to create a temp. magnet to attract pins.

Well, I didn't focus much on this experiment, only flipped through, because it already came out for my trials (for which I got full marks on that bit) and I thought to myself, Can lightning strike twice? Apparently it can. So I was smiling all the way when I did the question. Afterwards, Erina confided that she had a feeling that the solenoid would come out again. In case you didn't know, for trials Erina randomly flipped a page in her Physics book and studied the experiment on the page moments before the exam. That particular experiment was the solenoid experiment. So Erina told Candice that if solenoid came out again for SPM, she would kiss the floor.

Naturally after that announcement, Candice and I immediately pestered her to kiss the floor. Erina protested by saying too dirty, must use Dettol to clean first. I pulled out my Dettol sanitiser. She looked shocked. 'Ha, serious ah?' Well, duh! Then we compromised by having her kiss the table, and she agreed, but she took one look at the name on the slip, recoiled in something between dislike and disgust (Yerr, it's Montri's table!) and moved onto the next one. In the end she kissed the back of Melinda's chair, but Candice and I weren't really satisfied.

Now the best for last. Jo and I were staying back during the 4-hour break between Add Maths 1 and 2. Stupidly enough, I checked my schedule not realising that we have 4 hours break, and I didn't want to go to my cousin's place so I stayed in school. Then turns out the canteen didn't provide lunch, so after worrying a while, I called Dad and he turned up with our orders for McDs! Jo came down with me to get the food, and everyone was looking envious. JY even got someone to send him Burger King!

So after lunch, Jo and I retreated to the outside of my Bilik 5, where it was quiet since no one was around. We chatted, and then he took a nap while I went through my Add maths. Then we got bored and started walking back to the badminton court. We met Xin Wei and Candice at the Co-op and sat down on the chairs, me next to Jo, Xin Wei next to Candice. Afterwards, XY and C stood up trying to balance themselves on the step, and Montri came over and plonked down on the bench, head in Jo's lap! We were laughing so hard when Giselle, Alicia and Phei Fang saw us and came over. We started talking with Montri closing his eyes while Jo motioned silently for a pair of scissors.

Which was rather appropriate as at this moment, Alicia was talking about chopping off her long hair for a shorter do. Fang had scissors ready and passed them to XW, who passed them (exaggerated) silently to me to pass to Jo. Jo motioned to me to cut Montri's hair which I refused. Then there was a silent, motion-only argument between us until Jo took the scissors. And all these time we were actually keeping up the conversation as if nothing was happening.

Alicia buried her face and said, 'I can't bear to watch.'

'Watch what?' Montri piped up. 'Cutting her hair off,' Jo replied smoothly, slicing off a bit of his hair. He did it quite a bit, only tiny snips that don't really make a difference, and Montri never knew. In between we cracked quips about how Jo could be a barber next time, and the Thai boy never knew a thing!

Then XW wanted in on the fun, and she took the scissors. Believe me, it was quite a feat keeping up talking while we watched the proceedings.

Then Montri started to wonder why everyone wasn't talking as much (too busy watching the hair-snipping with bated breath) and he swept a hand through his hair the same moment XW snipped a lock of hair. Naturally, his hands touched the scissors and he sprang up and everyone was laughing like shit.

He started spewing expletives while Jo brushed the hair from his pants. It was all cool though; you couldn't really tell if his hair was cut or not.

Well, laughs all around. But I need to sleep. Got revision tuition tomorrow for the whole day so I'll catch you guys around yeah. Thank you Ben for helping me calm down before BM by saying, "What's the point of studying so hard if you're too stressed to pick up the pencil?" and "Not studying a while won't kill you." Thanks very much.

Alright, then.

Cheers.

Tuesday 17 November 2009

Knights of Fairy Tales

Dialogue taken from King Arthur (2005)...

"My father told me great tales of you," Guinevere said, by way of making conversation.

"Really?" Arthur asked, interested in spite of himself. "And what did you hear?"

"Fairy tales," Guinevere answered. "The kind you hear about people so brave, so selfless, that they can't be real." She gave a mocking smile.

"Arthur and his knights."
________________________

She had a thing for knights. Not the modern day kind, where all you had to do was do something great for the world and Queen E would grant you a knighthood. Where you had the title "Sir" in front of your name but had no royal blood lineage in you at all. Where your occupation was not to defend the kingdom but to play music or act in films.

She loved the old knights of Arthur's time.

Her fascination with Arthur started when she watched King Arthur. It started with a disclaimer where people never knew who Arthur truly was, but that later historians found Arthur to be based on a Roman Centurion called Arthorius Castus, or Arthur.

Then Merlin came about, and it was all she could do to stop herself from jumping in excitement. The swordfights excited her, and the magical moments, Morgana's moments especially, fired her blood up. It didn't hurt that she was always fascinated by swordfighting as a kid.

There would always be one truth: She believed in knights, so much so that she wanted to be one. Everything could change, but this one thing will not. She loved the fact that knights were chivalrous (a dying practice in this modern times); she loved that they stood for all that was right (unlike the corruption taking place throughout the world); she loved the way a sword would feel in her hands, strong steel that could cut through anything - she would give a world just for a chance to touch one.

Guns were alright, she guessed; like any other hot-blooded teenager, she liked guns. They were fast, deadly, and brilliant. But sometimes a part of her bemoaned the fact that guns lacked the finesse swordfighting did. Guns detached one from the real scene; anyone could pick up a piece, pull the trigger and walk off, unaffected. But it took guts to pick up a sword, fend iff your opponent, parry him off, use your head to turn the situation against him, with a large possibility that you were going to get your hands dirty with blood. Guns ended things too quick; she wanted to feel the snag of resistance, wanted to see how people would fight for their lives. She wanted to hear the hum of the blade as it swung in the air, feel a sense of satisfaction when it hit another blade with a resounding clang.

Like most things, the art of swordfighting was lost.

But she missed the knights the most.

She liked the Ancient times. At least back then, the only way you died in battle was by a sword, knife, axe or arrow. Nowadays, as the crime preventing tech gets more effective, people are looking for more deviant ways to kill. Truth be told, she preferred it old school. If it were against any medieval weapon, you could always fight back. But how could you possibly resist sodium penthothal (truth serum) or fight back against nuclear bombs and stuff like that?

Knights were her heroes. King Arthur was her favourite fairy tale. Because while other stories like Snow White, Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty focuses on a young prince on a white horse that arrived at the end of the day to sweep the credit and the young maiden into his arms (how unrealistic that people could fall in love at first sight and marry the next day- they should make one where, after marrying the prince, Cinderella files for a divorce), Arthur and his knights had to prove themselves able to defend the kingdom. Arthur had many choices to make, difficult ones that had a specific outcome, but that made him all the more humane.

He worked hard to get where he is now: a great king of a great kingdom that forms a legend that will never be forgotten, however fictional he might be.

And instead of hoping for princes to sweep us off our feet, shouldn't we charge forth and do the right thing?

"Sometimes you've gotta do what you think is right, damn the consequences." ~ Morgana to Arthur in Merlin, episode 4 : The Poisoned Chalice.

Tuesday 20 October 2009

Today I Felt Down, But Cheesecake Cheered Me Up.

Yes well, I helped Mum to make the loveliest cheesecake ever. And it was delicious. For some reason, I can't stand it when people spell delicious as delish or especially as espesh. Sounds a bit rojak, no?

Yeah so was chatting with Chiau Hui during recess. Walked to my class with her and we were chatting all the way when I saw Jo outside the class and waved him in. And so the three of us started talking and Jo suddenly mentioned he still remembered I called him an idiot (albeit unknowingly, unthinkingly--refer to previous posts) and we started laughing, so I told CH what happened.

Then Jo and I had a hilarious laughing spree where I suddenly talked about Slowpoké the Talking Snail. If you'll go to my profile and scroll down you'd be able to see it.

Anyway, gotta go.

Cheers.

Sunday 18 October 2009

Just Because I Try To Justify Myself

I like my previous blog title: Just Because. Two simple words that mean a lot of things. Mostly used by the misunderstood to justify their actions.

Just because I lie..

Just because I hate him..

Just because this, just because that.

It's the universal answer to justify one's self. This example can be seen most times in crime dramas like CSI, Lie to Me etc.

"Just because I hate him doesn't mean I killed him."

Yeah you get the point.

We justify ourselves everyday because we believe what we're doing is right. We believe that the other side is wrong. But what if the other side believes they're the ones that are in the right and we're the bad guys? What happens next?

We're at an impasse, that's what.

Both sides will not give in, they'll just keep on going. And so the war continues.

Here's the thing, though.

What if, the action you are trying to justify, isn't really that all justifiable?

Cheers.

Fish Tales

Yeah, how is everyone lately? I'm fantastic, thanks for asking. SPM is how many days away? I don't know. Désolé, but I lost count. I don't like stressing myself unnecessarily when I'm already stressed enough.

Saturday we went to One Utama. Was deciding where to go for lunch when Mum caught sight of The Gardens. Yes, it's the one with the adjoining boutique and whatnot. So we decided to give it a try, and we ordered from the Lunch set or something of the sort.

The drinks were a choice of Ice Lemon tea, Ice Coffee or tea. All of us toook ILT, and one thing that was cute was that it came in small pitchers! Uber adorable, with the stirrers that had a flower at the top. The soup of the day was onion soup, which I expected to be nice, but I was a bit disappointed as it was just clear broth that smelled heavenly of onions but tasted bland. Like I said,

"It was like drinking onion-smelling water."

Dad ordered the Beef Ginger, which was basically rice, pompadom, and a side dish of beef slices in a brown ginger sauce. Not bad, although the beef was a little tough to chew. Sis ordered the Spaghetti Aglio Ed Olio with Prawns (ha! I actually remembered how to spell it!). It was just spaghetti fried with garlic, olive oil, chilli flakes and some sauteed prawns. Sis was looking expectant when it came in a super large triangular dish that took up almost her whole corner of the table, but the portions were a bit small, though the prawns were big. It kinda reminded me of a convo I had with some friends last year in school when we were talking about French food.

"French food, like foie gras (goose liver), is very expensive, but it's very con lah! You pay so much for the dish, and your plate on the table very big, but then they serve it (the food) on a small dish served on a slightly bigger dish stacked on top of the big plate on the table. Then when you look at it, the foie gras is actually less than a quarter of the size of the original big plate. So, basically, you're paying lotsa money for the stacking of the plates instead of the foie gras itself."

True, in a sense.

Mum took the Seafood Noodles, which comprised of yee meen, mussels, prawns and vegetables. At first she was dubious about it, but later realised that it was worth every cent because the portions were big. Hello, mussels?

Mine was the Butter Ginger Dory Fish with Pineapple and Mashed Potato. Sis wanted to order that as well but took the spaghetti in the end. I was actually quite excited, because I had the idea that it would be those high class-looking dishes, where they'd melt butter in a pan, add in some ginger shreds for flavour, then pour it over the dory fish in a light, brothy kind of sauce, like the ones they used in the posh western restaurants. Then, on the side, they'd give a dab of mashed potato and some pineapple slices.

I had never been so disillusioned.

The fish came, sitting in the middle of the same big triangular plate as Sis's spaghetti did, surrounded by a creamy looking sauce. My first thought was, Hey, is that creamy thing the mashed potato? Maybe they made it so creamy and nice they filled the plate with it and placed the fish on top. Don't laugh; I've learned to appreciate the art of arranging food. Blame Jamie Oliver.

So I dipped my fork into the creamy thing, stuck it into my mouth....and resisted the urge to spit it out again. Because, dear friends, the creamy thing WASN'T the mashed potato; nope, it was the butter sauce. And I love butter, but this time, it tasted as if someone had mushed the soft butter up with 5 pounds of sugar, mixed it around, and dumped it on the plate. Really, it was that sweet. Reminded me a bit of Nigella Lawson.

"Now we pour in a cup of sugar--" dumps in half the bag. "--and we add a pinch of salt--" throws a whole cup inside. Honestly, the woman can give you diabetes.

The butter sauce, it's like you stick it into your mouth, the first thing you can taste is the sweetness. Then after a bit, you can taste the strong taste of butter. Horrible combination. Exactly why I don't like jam. Too sweet.

I want to avoid getting diabetes, so I did what every normal person would do under the circumstances: I skipped the sauce and ate just the fish. Very obviously, I wasn't full. The fish was actually quite nice, but one part annoyed me a bit: Remember the pineapple? I found a thin, tiny slice of it right on top the first portion of fish and that was it. Now I have a feeling that the sweetness in the butter sauce was contributed by the errant pineapple. Then I dug deeper and I found: mashed potatoes! The saving grace! Bit bland, but after the too-sweet texture of the sauce, I was ready to welcome it!

Mum couldn't finish her noodles so I helpfully (ha!) finished it for her, all the while declaring, Thank God for the person who invented the yee meen! Honestly, I wasn't about to underestimate it again.

You might have found The Gardens to your taste, but for me, it was a one time only, never again sorta visit.

Got any bad restaurant tales to share?

Cheers.

Thursday 15 October 2009

I Wear A Mask Every Single Day, A Façade of Calm and Removedness, But Sometimes, The Veneer Cracks, And You Get A Glimpse Of Who I Truly Am.

People take everything at face value.

Their first impressions of people they meet decide if that person would be a good friend or a good colleague. However, first impressions are not the only thing that decides a man's future connections. It is that man's personality, his essence of being, that magnetises the people around him and draws them closer. It is just a matter of getting the time to know them, after all.

The question is, will you take the time to know me?

Wednesday 14 October 2009

An Angel Falls Freely From Grace, But A Homicidal Angel Hits The Ground With A Bang

I am an angel.

A guardian angel to be exact.

But unlike other angels, I'm homicidal.

The homicidal angel who will kill anyone who touches the people she loves.

Are you one of them?

One of the loved, or one of the people who touches them?

Cheers.

What's My Name Again?

Well, it's been interesting. Went to school. Surprisingly, a large number of people turned up. We were slightly annoyed that we were transferred to 3 Lili instead of going back to our own class. But then the annoyance grew when we entered the class, and lo and behold, electricity was sucked dry and the fans and lights didn't work! So we spent four hours plus in school feeling hot.

Was trying to study chem but failed miserably because it was just so noisy in class. I went to the facilities during English and when I came back, Pn Doreen called me over, asking me what is my name. I think I gave her a wth? look because she explained, Xian Yao sitting in front of her, that it seems she had been mispronouncing my name for 2 years plus. So I had to say my name (with held from Xian Yao, you told her she was mispronouncing my name, right?) and she managed to get it.

Then she was saying that I should've corrected her in the beginning, but I kept quiet for two years straight. At this moment, I just gave a dry smile and went back to my place.

You wanted to know why I didn't bother correcting you? Yeah, it's because of this: I could correct you today, but the next time it's back to Alicia. And then I have to correct you again, and it's all fun and games, then the next time you say my name, it's back to Alicia and I'm tearing my hair out trying to not to commit murder.

'It's pronounced Ee-LEE-sia. Not Alicia. Not Alyssia. EEEEE! It starts with a bloody E, dammit! What's wrong with you people?!'

Inhale, exhale. Do those breathing exercises they always get the pregnant ladies to do. Inhale, exhale. I'm calm now.

To continue, one thing I really dislike (but can't be helped much) is that they always say my name in that Chinese, sing-song way. You know how it is when you're saying something you can't pronounce, you go slow and there's a pause between every syllable? Ee. LEE. sia. There's always a soft pause and, I always imagined, a nodding of heads when they say it. It's Elyssia, no pause, smooth, soothing. It's derived from Elizabeth (lovely name, Elizabeth. Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth Bennet/Swann), and, I'd like to think, the Elysian Fields in Elysium, a section of the Greek underworld where the souls of the great heroes, warriors and the virtuous are. It's essentially paradise.

If you can't pronounce my name at all, Ely (Ellie, Ally, not Eli as in Ee-Lie. But that would be cool, I think. Cool nickname for cool spelling. Come to think of it, Ely as Ee-Lie would be cool. Different from the crowd, but cool) will do just fine. Or Elle would be just as well. Note, you people. Elle is pronounced L, like the letter, not Ellie. You know, Elle Magazine? You have no idea how many people I know pronounce Elle as Ellie.

But I'd really hope that I'd be able to find someone who can actually pronounce my name right first time around, someone I've never known before. It leaves me a good impression, because you've got to be genius to pronounce my name. A Not-Must-Have-But-A-Bonus for whoever my future guy's going to be.

Or if you're Erina, Ely the Elephant is fine as well.

Only if you're Erina.

And if Erina reads this, quit talking about whips and branding and carving names and me in the same sentence because, honestly, it's really disturbing. Really disturbing.

I was really pleased that my name was so unique, but the other day I googled my first name for fun, and I was stunned. The Elyssia with a myspace, don't know who she is, and can't be bothered, but it was the one underneath that that got me.

Can you say, WTH?

I can't hear you...

Louder!

Thank you. Now you understand my frustration.

I've stopped searching for my name. It's devastating.

Brand New Day - Ryan Star. Go check. It's the Lie to Me theme song. Now I can pretend I'm Cal Lightman, with all that British attitude and his forever hunching back. But if you google Tim Roth, he actually looks quite cute when he was younger.

Sigh.

Cheers.

Sunday 11 October 2009

Pumpkinism

I am superly attached to the name Morgana I feel like naming my future daughter that. Yes, Morgana is King Arthur's half sister and she's supposed to be a witch or whatnot, but the Morgana I had in mind was the one played by Katie McGrath in Merlin. Genius.

Anyway, apparently there are 30 plus days to SPM and I'm still lax. I'm planning to wake up at what? six thirty tomorrow, spend an hour eating breakfast and then study like mad. I haven't done much progress yet! Only good news is that SPM ends a four days before my birthday so Hurrah!

What else? Ah! I used smartdraw to create my version of Morgana's bedroom in Merlin, only with some modernisation. Call me insane, call me obsessed, I'm a girl on a mission! And I did it. Only the bugger thing wouldn't print and even if it did, it's got the bloody smartdraw watermark on it. I know it's very messy and all but it's my first version so be nice.
[P.S. Unfortunately, if you refer to my cbox, I'm not supposed to link it like that so yeah, link is removed. Sorry]

Call it cacated or whatever you like, but I like my ideal bedroom to be like that. And yes, the bed's supposed to be a fourposter, only they don't have a four-poster symbol I could use. And the table in the middle is a study/meal table. I find it very interesting because nowadays family eat dinner together, but what if your family members are always out of the house? I'd rather think that inviting a friend to eat in your room is kind of intimate and reassuring at the same time, like one of your close friends you can bare all to.

And when you're imagining it in 3D (gonna try to sketch that out later?) the furniture and all are supposed to be oak and stuff, and the table in the middle is laquered rosewood. I know there's a table lamp on the table but it was supposed to be a candelabrum (the thing that holds candles), because it's supposed to be nice and rustic-looking so she (my alter ego, Morgana--yes, yes, obsession) would have lotsa candles all over the place, even a couple on the nightstand. Those circles with the I in the middle are columns, while the zig-zaggy thing in the bottom left corner is a foldable screen. Though why I wanted a screen there I don't know.

At the bottom right corner are two rooms. The top one is like her dressing room, where she's got her wardrobe and stuff. The one at the bottom (obscured by the bloody watermark) is her bathroom. The round thingy at the top left corner is the spiral staircase. Chris said it looked like a one-room thing, but hey, living in a loft isn't that bad.

Yeah, just to let you know, that even if I online, I'd doubt I've got much time to update okay? Let me finish the next two, three months and I'll bloody update every day for you. Especially on my birthday. I'll post my exact whereabouts on my birthday to give you an insight on how boring my birthday can be. Which is why I don't celebrate it.

Oh, and Halloween's coming. I kept on calling it All Hallows Eve after watching a Charmed episode where the main characters called it that instead of Halloween. I support pumpkinism.

Pumpkinism = Rights of pumpkin to be eaten, carved, and lit up solely for fulfilling man's cultural need and pleasure.
[Definition by Lou, more or less]

Till All Hallows Eve, the Beginning of SPM, the end of SPM, my birthday, and Christmas,

Team Whatnot FTW co-president-who-secretly-works-from-behind-the-scenes-to-avoid-capture,

Cheers.

Thursday 8 October 2009

Debates and Irish Radios

I'm so keen on learning the Irish accent (well, Dublin actually, like Katie McGrath's Southern Irish one) that I'm actually listening to an Irish Radio station. It's the RTE Radio 2. http://www.listenlive.eu/ireland.html Go check it out. I doubt many of you will but hey, to each his own.

Was chatting to Lou. Désolé, Lou, for introducting you to slash. Thank God you don't mind, because most of these slash are quite...graphic. I'm going to pasar malam this evening! It's a big deal because I've not been to pasar malam for ages since I started secondary school. Okay, not for ages but very rarely. The last time I went was early this year. Anyway, we're going there to get me a torchlight. I've already got one, but my paranoia is kicking in, and I want a torch that's handy enough for me to whack someone if the need arises.

Blame it on the Relic Hunter and Alias episodes. Besides, Dad's really agreeable. I think he kinda supports my paranoia tendencies, or, as he calls it, 'Eye for Details'. I coverted the really nice 100plus penknife he won, and when I was snooping around the house for matches (yes, my arsonist tendencies emerges occasionally) and found a cheap lighter, he showed me his own (quite old) black-and-gold coloured lighter. Unfortunately, these two were out of gas, and so the next thing I knew, he got me my own Cricket lighter! In Blue! Scares my sis when I'm playing with it though. She's always afraid I'd burn the house down.

So today we're going to get me a nice, whack-handy torch. It's going to be nice and slim that I can carry anyway. At least if I'm trapped somewhere I can use it. Note: Must refresh memory on Morse code to learn to flash SOS.

Was chatting with Xian Yao, talking about college which led to a huge debate about the cultural clashes between Asian and Western. I like Xian Yao. He's cool, and he's probably one of the few people I know that can actually debate intellectually with me. It kinda stimulates my brain to think from a different point of view. Tim is another. Lou's a third. When I'm talking to them, they can understand what I'm saying. I don't really have to break it down for them. It's like we're on the same wavelength or something.

Besides, all four of us (from my point of view, anyway) we're different in our own way but so similar in others. We all like learning, we can hold intellectual conversations (something which I really hunger for), we can theorise. Basically I think we have that "What If?" chromosome embedded in our DNA. The saddest thing in the world is to see man getting so comfortable with their surroundings they can't be bothered to improve themselves.

Oh, oh. I also added an Irish Clock and a Malaysian Clock so yeah.

Cheers.

Tuesday 6 October 2009

When In Doubt, Google

Tim and I were having a minor discussion about personal stuff until we came to the disagreement: Puppy love and crushes are different. Tim was for it, I was against it.

To prove my point I went and Googled it. What I got was this:
http://sg.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080821072638AAnFQOH

When I told him, his reaction was;

'You googled the damn thing?'

Pretty hilarious. For me. Not him.

I guess.

Cheers.

What Our Devious Minds Can Plot, Our Curiosity Develops.

Was supposed to online for 2 hours a day but I think I might go over the limit here. Anyway, I've done a bit of Physics and Add Maths so I'm probably going to make up for it by doing some more practices.

It's surprising, really, how SPM is 40+ days away but I'm feeling lax. Shar recommended Memories (All We Need) by The Sequel which is really quite genius (Note: I'm using Genius as an adjective for everything I think is brilliant). Really nice. A bit acoustic-y but it fits the song.

Chatted with Timmy the whole day. Started off with his Mystic Meg prediction on FB (You and your gf will be having a new arrival...something like that). Then it went onto Burn Notice, easily the greatest show in my book, next to Relic Hunter, Alias, The Mentalist and Lie To Me. Merlin is also a top contender. Anway, we were talking about this section in the BN website where you could make spy stuff from household items and it was geniusly cool. There were wireless signal jammers and whatnot. It was brilliant, my childhood dream come true.

Okay, so maybe not exactly, but it was lovely. Like spy heaven for spy wanna-bes.

Then Tim suggested that we try to build some of the stuff. So my reply, naturally, was If you make them, I want in. Then I suggested we build a team of whatnots.

Ergo, Team Whatnot FTW was created. FTW = For the Win. Tim's idea. Mine was just Team Whatnot. Then discussion went to MacGyver who only carries a Swiss Army Knife and duct tape. And Tim mentioned that McG carried a big knapsack and when people asked what's inside, McG replies, 'Nothing. It's for the things I find on the way.'

So I said that we should do that as well. Tim just scoffed. 'As if you can find anything around here that's usable. You won't even wanna touch them even if they are.' True enough. That's when I said that's what sanitiser is for. He joked that we were going to need a lot of sanitiser then.

All in all, we were busy playing the quizzes on Burn Notice. For the BN villains, I got Con-Man while he got White Collar. Then with our devious minds, we were plotting about what does Team Whatnot do. To quote Timmy,

"We've been goin on and on abt whatnot but wat exactly is d whatnot dat team whatnot's gonna b doing xD"

Yeah. Genius right, us. Planning out the team without knowing what whatnot the team will be doing. It's a nice gesture, you know. Having a team of friends make things out of household items. It's informative and interesting. Would you prefer to make a wireless device that works using the whole sound waves thing (Physics Form 5 Chpt 1) or would you prefer to study and study without knowing or understanding it? Dunno about you, but I like working with my hands, and I learn better that way.

Like I said,

"We will reignite the fires of curiosity from one tiny spark!"

Then there's this cool quote from Burn Notice in one of the quizzes.

You get caught taking home office supplies when it's against office policy. What do you do?
1. Admit nothing, deny everything and make counter accusations.
2. Say everyone's doing it as well.
3. Say you have a reason to do so since you're bringing work home with you.
4. I forgot what it said.

Ultimately, I chose 1.

Onward, comrades, conspirators and calculators! May the pi be with you.
Drink up ya mateys yo ho! (Tim's line)

Cheers!

Monday 5 October 2009

Boredom Reigning In My Veins

If I have to log into Louise's blog and see the OH MY FATHER'S GOAT post one more time, I will kill myself. Or maybe I should just stop logging into her blog until after exams. What does OMFG even mea....oh. I only got the hint when I typed it out. Bit slow, yea?

Désolé, Lou.

Moment of eccentricity. I'm eccentric.

Cheers.

You Don't Yell At Me One Minute And Expect Me To Help You The Next. It's Not Right.

Oh. Em. Gee.

As much as I hate using it (sounds a bit lala), it is nevertheless well-suited for the occasion.

I discovered I have LiveJournal!

And the thing is, the only reason why I did it aeons ago was because most of the Morgana sites I went to were all LJs and I wanted one as well. Only I forgot I'd made it until today, where I oh-so-cleverly (note the sarcasm) tried to create a LJ and realised that my username (PerhapsSamson) was taken. And believe me, I created it myself and there's no way there's another PerhapsSamson out there. So I signed in and voila! I rediscovered my LJ, which has been in a terrible state of neglect and decay, I'm afraid.

To remedy this I will now link my LJ to my blog. However, dear readers (which, creepily enough, includes my sister) I will not update LJ. At all. Or very much. LJ's purpose is to serve as a linking site to all my beloved Morgana fanfics. Or maybe I should just link the fanfic to my blog instead. Whatever.

Will not be blogging much due to SPM. So don't expect anything unless I've got something really hilarious to share.

And it's really crappy, how everyone says that all we need to do is suffer two more months and after that it's all over. Don't they get it? It's never over. After SPM there's college and you have to slog like you're running away from the gates of Hell, then after that you're slogging at work to get a promotion, and after retirement you're slogging to do research and buy all those bloddy health supplements so you don't expire quickly. What happened to the whole idea of living every day like it's your last?

We're really hypocritical.

And yes if you have your opinion about the issue above by all means, go ahead but don't expect me to conform to it. I am eccentric. Being eccentric means I don't have to conform to everything. Like I've always said,

Just because I have to ________(insert appropriate answer: grow up, do something) does not mean I have to like it.

I really like Morgana. Or rather, Katie McGrath. She's genius. And I'm probably fawning but I don't care.

Hilarity moment: My sister actually recommended my blog to a friend of hers to read it. When she told me I was expecting something like, Your sister, not bad wei her writing. Okay lah, maybe a bit perasan-ed but my sis actually thought her friend was going to say something like that. Wanna know what her friend said instead?

"Hey I went to your sis's blog and I found a personality quiz there!"

Enjoy the wth? looks on our faces.

Cheers.

Thursday 1 October 2009

Of Autographs, Humour and Wasting Time

Okay so got most of the results back. Generally, I'm quite okay with it. Key word being "Generally". Really going to have to do better for Physics, Biology (In which I got a B but could've gotta an A for), Add Maths (I'm screwed) and History.

This week we've been a mite busy on our "testimonials". I initially thought that testimonials were letters of recommendation or stuff like that from teachers. It turned out to be a form filled with our curricular and school activities signed by our teacher advisor.

We've got the papers before the Raya hols but had absolutely no idea what to do with them. So in a state of Screw It Syndrome (SIS), I simply chucked the whole thing into my file (love that word: chucked. Sounds so...chucky) and left it there to rot and decompose, never mind that it takes about 60-90 days to biodegrade.

Only recently did I save it from decomposing when I pulled the whole thing out on Tuesday and checked the timeline I had in my laptop files (yes, I actually write up a timeline of every event I took part in--thank God to Mum for suggesting I do this back in January. Saved me time trying to figure out what my academic achievements were.)

So I scrolled through my timeline and started writing in pencil all the stuff I did in school. University of New South Wales English assessment, Public Speaking Training and Competition in Sunway College, English Public Speaking Competition in the form of a book review in Form 4 (did Pride & Prejudice, though I based it mostly on the movie which was way more interesting--to me--than the book. You think the judges actually read the book?) which I won second prize for. First prize went to a Form 5. Chemistry Crossword Puzzle which I thought I screwed up badly but ended up getting first prize.

Then on Wednesday, Pn Maziana was telling everyone to hand up our papers on Thursday. That's when everyone started panicking and going around to see how it was done and written. Had mine done with help from Ben, Jeremy, Darrel, David and Chris (who's been having the mickey taken out of him because of his online alias: Rancora. There was this time when Pn Ting asked who was supposed to help Chanti sweep the class and Chris belatedly realised it was him. He got up, and Jit Sun was crowing: Rancora's an ass or something like that. Shite. Forgot that Chris reads my blog. Sorry, kitty-cat. XD)

Since first period on Wednesday was EST, we decided to get our CF signatures from Pn Carol. After that it was a mad dash around the school. Mid year they noticed too many students entering the staff room freely so they had this policy where you could only enter with a pass from a teacher. However when I entered the staff room today with David and Erina to get signatures, it was filled with students. Obviously disregarding the sign on the door that says, 'Pelajar tidak dibenarkan masuk.'

After EST we got back our Add Maths marks, and then we had English. Pn Doreen wasn't here so Erina, Xian Yao, Wee Liam and I left to get signatures. First, we went to look for Mr. Ravi (for scouts) in the disiplin room but before we got there (still have no idea where it is) I spotted him entering a Form 4 class. We were going to enter but he motioned for us to wait outside while the Form 4s (most of who had been ponteng-ing) scrambled back into class. He managed to get them into order when two girls tried to enter surreptitiously by running behind him to their seats. Unfortunately he caught them and yelled at them to stand outside. Then he signed mine, XY and WL's papers.

XY and WL left but Rin and I were hanging about the staff room to find form 3 teacher Pn Wan Hajimah cause we needed her to sign our Ketua Tingkatan/Penolong Ketua Tingkatan posts. Somehow gifted with spotting abilities (hah), I managed to spot her before she went down the stairs and immediately rushed over, desperately asking her to sign.

Went back to class and got Pn Liew to sign my Rumah Ungu (she's one of the teacher advisors) and my Chem Quiz/Olympic Chem Quiz thing.

Then today, they had an emergency seminar about how to write our Testimonials and Surat Akuan. A bit last minute, everyone thought. Wasting our time as well. After which we went back to class to begin the whole signature-seeking process, but we were stopped by Pn Maziana who gave us another paper: surat for the curriculum activities which she forgot to give us. Erina was bloody pissed when she found out that Pn Maziana didn't have time to finish filling the forms for the whole class, did half of the class only, and conveniently stopped at her form. (I'm before Erina in the name list so I got lucky mine was filled up *smirks*)

Erina thinks PM has a grudge against her or something. So we were discussing the whole thing when David mentioned that PM didn't want to see correction tape (a more convenient form of liquid paper) on our paper so whoever had used CR had to redo the whole thing. David and Erina had to redo the whole thing. Then someone said it had to be in BLOCK letters so they had to request more paper just to finish it up.

Halfway through, Erina got so fed up she took her new sheets of paper, and pointed surreptitiously to the left where Gerald was listening to David's iPod and mouthing at me, 'His handwriting big or not?'

Erina's handwriting was small so she wanted someone to fill her form for her. I nodded, cause Gerald's handwriting is really nice for a guy and is probably nicer than mine cause he writes with flourishes in a very artsy way, like he's drawing his name instead of writing it. Hey, no kidding. I saw the way he wrote his name on his Bio 3 paper and it was really nice.

So we waved Gerald down and got him to fill in Erina's paper for her, all the while Rin and I were saying, 'Hey, his handwriting really nice.' and Rin noted that he was trembling and said so. Jit Sun came over, holding his documents as well and plopped down on the chair beside Gerald. 'Hey, they paying you to do this or not?'

When Gerald just smiled, Jit Sun started preening and fluttering his lashes at Gerald, his voice going all feminine, 'Can you fill up for me as well?' We were laughing while Gerald nodded yes.

Then Jit Sun got playful and started asking. 'How is she (nods at Erina) going to pay you?' We looked at him. 'She doesn't have her virginity anymore.'

This caused Erina to let out a loud WEI of indignance. Then I joined in on the fun. 'Yeah, cause she lost it to the table in EduSmart.' In-joke, people. Erina used to joke about losing her virginity to a table in EduSmart.

To retaliate Erina shot Jit Sun with a question. 'So, how are you going to pay him? Didn't you lose yours (virginity) already?'

Jit Sun was unperturbed. 'No lah, unless you count loosing it to my hand.' This caused Erina to let out another Eew and Jit Sun to cackle in wicked delight when the implication of the sentence sunk in.

Later, after all was done, David got so fed-up he went (or got someone) to go to Mr Allen, Penolong Kanan Hal Ehwal Murid (HEM--in charge of student stuff) and asked about the Block letters and correction tape thing.

The final verdict?

Mr Allen said it was alright (since later they were going to type it in anyway.) So David was a bit annoyed he'd done everything for nothing. Thank God I didn't bother to waste paper and ink on redoing my paper when I used a bit of correction tape.

So far I've got most of my signatures: I'm only missing Pn Doreen's signatures for my UNSW and other English related stuff. Gerald, it seems, turned out to be a Scout and Rumah Ungu fellow! Who happens to never show up at meetings. He was even wondering if he could just forge Mr. Ravi's signature for the Scouts column.

Okay, tension over. Now to the hilarious part.

Monday. We were in Physics tuition. Candice and Jit Sun were sitting behind me, and Janice and Ya Jen behind them. Jan was showing Sun her English essay, which started with "I knew that I had..." So Jan was writing, in first person, about a woman with stomach cancer. According to the essay (Sun was reading all the funny bits out), "I" had a husband, Greg (Sun said it was a common name, not bad), and three children, Anakin (Sun and I were like, What?), Jane and Little Logan (confirmed by Jan to be taken from Gilmore Girls).

Turns out that Anakin and Jane were college students while Little Logan was three? six? His age kept coming into question when Sun mentioned that a three year old wouldn't have said the word "coped" (a sentence in the essay). Sun even went on to say that "I" and Greg were really something to have two kids in college and one kid three years old. At one point Sun snorted with laughter, and when Jan protested it was a sad story, he proceeded to sob theatrically.

There was a bit in the essay that said "I" had to be carried by Greg to bed and Little Logan helped by pulling on "My" pants. Here, Sun was shaking his head. 'So young already like that!' I mentioned to Candice that we should keep our kids away from Sun. Overall the story was okay.

Tuesday. Not much happened. At least, not that I can remember. All I remember was the return of the dreaded exam papers. Got an A2 for Bm, my first ever A for BM. All because I got 104 out of 130 for my two essays. English essay was fine but I went down by one point. Maybe I'll type it out and you can agree with me that it's not my best work. It's titled Water. Gerald, who did the water theme, talked about Water the Dog. He got splashed with water cause it was his birthday.

Wednesday. Just realised that most of the fun stuff happens in Chemistry tuition. Tim and his other half sat behind me and Tim kept on borrowing my paper to copy. Elaine finally showed up at tuition after a month of hiatus and Ben and I were busy discussing. We were given a work sheet by Mrs Foo and were doing the essay questions when we got stumped on a question.

It went something like this. It started with A was mixed with B to produce salt C and a colourless liquid (which, we later derived from the equation, turned out to be water). So the next question was (more or less),

Explain a test to confirm the colourless liquid (aka water). The correct answer was to mix it with anhydrous copper sulphate, which will turn from white to blue in the presence of water. But when someone asked Mrs Foo, 'Teacher, how to test water?' This was Montri's clever reply:

'You drink it lah!!'

The whole class burst out laughing, especially us Cempakians Plus One--CPO. (I'm terming us the Majority because in class, Montri, Janice, Candice and her friend Fiona--not really a major deal--fill the second row while Elaine, Ben and I fill the third row. Needless to say, Montri, Jan, Candice, Elaine, Ben and I were the loudest bunch in class. Or was it because the other students were too quiet?)

Montri didn't seem perturbed. 'Really, what. If it tastes like water then is water lorr!'

That, dear readers, is the logic of our very own Thai boy.

The next essay question started with:

What is a salt?

While Ben and I were copying the textbook version from my notes (a salt is an ionic compound where the H+ ions from an acid is replaced by a metal ion or an ammonium ion), Elaine had taken a leaf from Montri's book and devised her own answer.

'You see, must write like that.' Elaine nodded her head sagely. '"Salt? I dunno what salt is. I like sweet things, not salty things." Then you must add a smiley face for teacher to see.'

Ben and I were in hysterics.

Oh, I forgot. Monday, we were getting ready for our last exam cause it was postponed (refer to my last couple of posts--I think I mentioned why). Our class is in Block C. Usually the gates of the staircase is locked, and at seven or so, some students come up to open the gates for us. Jo was one of them.

So that morning, I was checking my watch, muttering about the bloody idiots who kept us waiting downstairs. Got so impatient I went and stood in front of the gates. Chris joined me and I was angrily pointing out the time to him. 'See? It's seven fifteen! Where is the bloody idiot who's going to open the bloody door for us?'

Then Chris started talking to someone I couldn't see. 'Hey, Joseph. She called you an idiot.'

I swung around, and there Jo was, coming to open the gates for us. He was looking at me weirdly. 'Did you call me an idiot?'

'No, I did not!' I was fumbling around. Honestly, I thought it was someone else who was supposed to open the gates for us cause I saw Jo walking up earlier. Chris was laughing and J0 was amused. I think.

Thursday i.e. today. Nothing much. All mentioned above. So now I'm going to play an hour of games (only one hour limit lah) before I go study?

Cheers.

Saturday 26 September 2009

Sometimes My Heart Beats So Fast, I Think It's Gonna Break Apart.

Just because I'm distant sometimes, doesn't mean that I can't hurt.
It just means I'm trying to protect myself from further pain.

Just because I don't tell you I Love You, doesn't mean that you don't matter.
It just means I don't know how to tell you so without getting teared-up.

Just because I act so removed, doesn't mean that I don't care.
It just means that I'm trying to think everything out rationally and I can't do that when I'm emotional.

Just because I don't join in with your discussion, doesn't mean I'm not interested in networking or making friends.
It just means that I feel bad that I have nothing to bring to the table of discussion.

Just because I think highly of myself, doesn't mean I'm arrogant.
It just means I'm confident of what I can do, that I know what I'm about. That I'm comfortable in my own skin.

Just because I make a cutting comment or a rude reply, doesn't mean I'm ill-mannered or I'm impolite. (Okay, maybe a little)
It just means that I'm scared, deep down, and I try not to show it.

Just because I behave like I'm more superior compared to everyone else, like I know everything, doesn't mean I'm egoistic or anything like that.
It just means I'm trying to act cool, like I actually know what I'm talking about, but inside, I'm really nervous.

Just because I scoff when you're anxious about an exam, or I try to brush something like finals off and say, "It's easy", doesn't mean I'm not nervous or scared, or afraid.
Because I am. I just hide it better.
______________________________

When I say, 'I'm alright', I'm actually trying to see who can spot my lie, and who cares about me enough to ask after me.

When I say, 'I Love You', I actually mean it. I really do.
______________________________

I act so nonchalant about things because it's the only way I can combat the harsh world outside. By pretending I don't care, it's easier to deflect everything they throw at me. By pretending to be weird and strange, I'm trying to see who my true friends are, and would they mind my quirkiness.

Every time someone gets emotional, I leave the scene, because if they cry, I might do it too, and I can't afford to let anyone see me in tears. Not because being in tears is a weakness, but because it's a sign that I'm losing control, and control is one thing I cannot afford to lose, because being in control means I'm still who I am, and nothing can change that.

And that's not the only reason why. I leave to protect myself. I leave because I absolutely refuse to entertain the idea that one day, you'll leave me. One day, I'll be all alone, and I don't like that. I don't like that at all.

If I could choose my own profession, I'd like to be a guardian angel. Because I'm paranoid, and the only way I can convince myself that the people I love are safe, is when I'm watching them myself.

My best friend is imaginary. I tell him things I can't tell anyone else, I share all my tears with him. Maybe, if I pray hard enough, I'll find him someday.

They say actions speak louder than words.
They also say that the pen is mightier than the sword.
Two contradicting, but very true, statements.
In that case, which hurts more: listening to the one you love gushing about the girl he's been crushing on, or seeing them, hand in hand, together?

Music plays a huge role in my life. I've always been in love with it. The melody, the haunting lilt, the wonderful and soothing notes. Which is why I believe that answers to the world's greatest mysteries can be found in music.

And just like every other post, I doubt anyone will reply to this one.

Wednesday 23 September 2009

That So Few Now Dare To Be Eccentric, Marks The Chief Danger Of The Time. - John Stuart Mill

What is the difference between...

...award and prize?

...gift and present?

...killer and murderer?

...laptop and notebook?

Believe me, there is a difference. Was just wondering if anyone had these random thoughts running through their heads like it's running through mine.

I need help for my story. It's a typical spy one where the main characters are three girls in their early twenties. Got the plot just about right but can't figure out a handy bioweapon. Melinda suggested that they know about a BW just not what it can do. I kinda like that plot line but I'm rather inclined to know everything about the BW beforehand. I also need to set out some events in a good timeline.

I'm not making sense, am I?

Anyway, if you got any suggestions, let me know.

Cheers.

Saturday 19 September 2009

Lullabies and Princes on White Horses

Ok I couldn't sleep a few nights ago (think my insomnia is coming back again). Usually I'd just drop onto my bed and next minute I'm in dreamland but lately it's taking me a couple of hours to sleep, and then I wake up and sleep again. It's annoying because I toss and turn around the whole bloody night and I'm feeling so uncomfortable.

And that got me thinking: what would one's future partner do in times like this? Sing them to sleep. Very endearing habit. Then I got into a sort of idea of what kind of lullaby Russell would sing. It's cringe-worthy, I understand but I really like some verses.

When the sky turns to rain
My brave little girl don't despair (yes, I think being called a little girl is rather endearing in some ways)
Help will come riding
Like a prince on a white horse
I'll be that prince someday (love these sentences)

I will slay dragons
And keep you from harm
I'll be a knight in Arthur's realm (another childhood fantasy--I love King Arthur)
Together we will be
Always and forever
Nothing will break us down

Whatever they say will not affect us
Whatever they scream will never hurt
As long as we're together
Nothing can break us down

When the sky turns to rain
My brave little girl don't despair
Help will come riding
Like a prince on a white horse
I'll be that prince someday

Seeking Answers

Everytime we speak
I'm always asking the questions
Curiosity, embeded deep inside me
But it doesn't make sense
Because I'm the one
Who initiates everything

What happened
To the age where the gentlemen
Always made the first move
What happened
That you can't be bothered
To talk to me

I'm searching desperately for answers
To questions I'm not sure exists
I try to delve deep within me
Doubt myself, am I the cause behind this
I may act so removed
I may built a wall around me
Don't be fooled
I'm just like any other girl
I need reassurance
Despite what they might think
Should I stay or should I walk away?

I thought that we were deeper than this
I figured there was something between us
And then I realised that I couldn't do this
Couldn't see this through

It's all my fault and I'm worried
I used to think I was so invincible
Right now, I feel like I'm defeated
I try to act like I don't care
But actually I do
We always do

Friday 18 September 2009

Do Not Fear To Be Eccentric In Opinion, For Every Opinion Now Accepted Was Once Eccentric.

Yes welcome back my public. Been off the grid for three weeks now, no thanks to the trials we've been having. Feel pretty confident in Chemistry, definitely screwing up my Add Maths. And our last exams (Biology Paper 3 and EST 1) is to be postponed until after the Raya hols.

Which explains why I'm here blogging. Not that trials didn't hold much excitement (yeah, right) for us. Shall I elaborate?

The date was 15 September 2009, aka Tuesday. We had our Chemistry and Physics Paper 3. Chem was fantastic. But Physics was more panicky than usual since our teacher didn't offer any tips whatsoever and everyone from Mr Yeoh's tuition class were scrambling for notes to read.

Paper 3 was experiment-based, which means they give you two structural questions regarding several experiments and you have to fill the blanks. That was the easy bit. Then the last section was the bit where they gave you a situation, and you had to contruct your own experiment based on what little clues they gave you. And it was this experiment-constructing bit that had everyone cursing to the bone. It didn't help matters that Nicholas Leong, Melinda and some others were busy debating the whole Kanye West-Taylor Swift incident.

So we frantically read through all of Mr Yeoh's notes. Then the bell rang and the teacher came in. So out goes the notes and our last chance at scraping some marks. Dunno if you guys overseas (that's you Shar) do this as well, but even though we're at our places and while the teacher's preparing to give out the papers, we still throw questions throughout the class just to confirm/get some last minute information our brains force us to think about.

Seating arrangements were as thus: seven tables (vertically) by six tables (horizontally). Originally this meant that I'd be sitting at the very back instead of the second last place, but Xian Yao who'd always sat the last seat, second row from the left wanted to keep his place so he got his way. That means he's the last in the second row. Erina was on his right, and I was in front of Erina. Ben was on Erina's right and Gerald was in front of him, making Gerald my right.

The moment the teacher (who was walking around passing papers) gave Xian Yao his Physics test paper, he flipped to the back and checked out the experiment questions. And he started laughing. Erina and I saw what was on the paper and the three of us started laughing hysterically.

You know why?

One of the questions that came out was the one we'd read about. It was especially a miracle for Erina, who'd came back from recess with Candice when she suddenly flipped her notes open, right at that very page with that very experiment, and she said, 'Let's study Physics.'

And then the next day for Modern Maths (abbreviated Mod Maths) we were doing the test when a bat flew in. See my class is the last one on the top floor, and we've been getting visits from bats and moths (Angsana class had a bat that flew into the fan and got its wings torn or something). Last couple of weeks before the exam, a bat flew in when we were studying and Xian Yao was like, 'Look! It's Edward Cullen!'

If you don't get the reference then you're obviously not from this planet we call Earth.

So half way through the Mod Maths test Edward Cullen flew in. And Xian Yao (never one to talk quietly--even his whispers are loud--sometimes wonder are the teachers really deaf or what) whispered to us, 'Did you see Edward Cullen?'

And that wasn't even the highlight. Thursday we came in and Erina noticed some brown balls of stuff on her table. Predictably she went Eww and immediately demanded to know what they were. Xian Yao helpfully suggested that they were bat poo and Erina shrank back in disgust, followed by more exclaimations of Eww.

I began to poke fun at her. 'Maybe it was left by Edward Cullen (the bat).'

Erina glared at me. Xian Yao caught on. 'Yalor. So you mustn't wipe it away.'

Then I couldn't resist adding, 'Just take it as a present from Edward Cullen himself.'

Ok that's all for exams. I am now downloading songs and games, and I seriously encourage you to listen to Alexz Johnson's Deeper and I Still Love You. They are seriously ncie songs and I managed to get Gerald to listen to them.

So I was bored and was tagged via Facebook by Xin Wei where we type in 10 names and click on the question generator and answer the questions. The first one I got was, 'How would Louise insult Erina?'

I asked and she didn't bother answering.

Then third question was, What would Timothy not caught dead in? Lou was laughing at that one.

Some other nice ones were What would happen if you could read David's private diary? But this is the best because it takes the mickey out of two of my guy friends.

Nicholas (Kok) and Gerald are forced to roleplay out a verbal couple fight. Who gets to play the wife?

I seriously burst out laughing at this and after much consideration, I chose Nicholas. Hmm, maybe I should post it on Facebook.

Honestly this generator asks all the stupid questions. Once I put my cousins's (Julaine, Emma and Praise) names and my sister's (Chary) in and I got this two questions:

How would you feel about some Julaine and Emma action?

I could've spat out my drink. If I had been drinking.

And then...

How about Praise and Chary?

I was like, Shit. What's this guy's problem?

But it's addictive. So I do it again just to see what kind of questions I'd get.

1. Lou got turned into an animal. What animal is it? ~Something unique but spicy. Maybe something like a killer whale. Or a tiger. Or an eagle.
2. Super fun fun adventure amusement park marathon with you, Timothy and Louise! How will it go? ~Hysterically. We probably can't decide where to go first.
3. Who is Gerald's best friend? ~ Dunno. Darrel, maybe? One of the guys from BR class.
4. Chiau Hui suddenly knows all your secrets. What do you have to say about that? ~The same one I got for the Ben question. I'll give the same answer: only that now they know why I've become what I am.
5. What musical instrument would Chary most likely play? ~ She already plays one: piano, just quitted it ages ago.
6. Would you love to read Praise's very personal diary? ~ Considering that she is 12 years old, I doubt there would be much to interest me. Unless she's writing about a boy...then I might be interested. Cue evil smirks and maniacal laughs.

Then I got bored cause they were repeating the questions. Anyway, I'm off to play a couple of games before dinner. Like Lou coined,

Fare thee well, comrades, conspirators and calculators! May the pi be with you!

(All Add Maths references, in case you didn't know. The only subject I truly hated. Seriously, this test results will prove I'm not fit to be an Add Mathematician.)

Cheers.

Wednesday 2 September 2009

Hope Is Tomorrow's Veneer Over Today's Disappointment.

Disappointment.

It's the worst feeling in the world. It makes you doub yourself, makes you question everything you ever did. It eats you from the inside, a stab so painful nothing will ever fix it. It is, essentially, the emotional equivalent of acid.

Being disappointed is bad enough.

Knowing you are the source of disappointment adds insult to the injury.

Remember, disappointment kills.

So study hard.

Okay. Blog will be on temporary hiatus till my trials end on the 18 of September. The above refers to an incident in Chem tuition today.

We were given Paper 1 to do. I got 76 %, which I thought was good but not good enough. It annoyed me that Timmy got higher than I did, and I was slightly pissed that I made so many careless mistakes.

But the clincher was, Mrs Foo asked for my marks, and when I told her, she just said one sentence:

"I expected better from you."

It stung, really, because I consider Chemistry to be my best subject, and I love it. It hurt that I had so many careless mistakes and I didn't trust my gut. But worse of all, she was right.

And that hurt the most.

P.S. Anyone has a copy of T.H. White's The Once and Future King? It's an Arthurian legend book. Really like to read it.

Wednesday 26 August 2009

Chemistry Is Just Like Cooking, Just With A Lot Less Tasting and A Lot More Explosives.

The first week in Chemistry class, you're required to memorise the electrochemical series. The teacher makes you memorise it, memorise until you've got everything down to boot. Where is Carbon? Above Zinc, below Aluminium. Where is Copper? Above Mercury, below Lead.

After that you're required to memorise the first twenty elements in the Periodic table. Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium, Beryllium so on and so forth. You have to memorise it, or so the teacher says. It's important for you to know.

Then you're again required to memorise the colours of metals. Gold is yellow, not gold, and the others are either brown or grey. Three colours only. Basic. Very basic.

So it should stand to reason that we'd remember this, especially now, what with our trials so near. Yet we could still make the same mistake.

Mrs. Foo was writing on the board in tuition today. She drew 3 test tubes, A, B, and C. Reading out the question as she wrote. Metal L displaced silver from silver nitrate solution in test tube A. Metal M displaced silver from AgNO3 in test tube B. Metal M could not displace L from L ion solution in test tube C. Write out the order of metals by increasing electropositivity.

So she wrote out the equation on the board.

L + AgNO3 ----> LNO3 + Ag

And started explaining at the same time.

'So if L displaces silver from AgNo3, it becomes LNO3, right?'

Furious nods throughout the room. Well, furious nods on my part, mostly. Everyone else was just so vanilla.

'And you get LNO3 and silver comes out.'

Now here's the real clincher.

'What colour is silver?'

Forgetting everything our Chemistry teacher drilled into our heads back in Form 4, Elaine, Montri and I said in unison. 'SILVER!'

Mrs. Foo looked at us, smiled and said, 'No, it's grey.'

Somehow, it was just plain hilarious.

Friday 21 August 2009

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade. And Poison It.

Bit of a lazy day. Started off decorating the class. Then got bored halfway and did bits and pieces of Chem and Add Maths and Mod Maths. Continued this way till BM where Pn Maziana gave us some study guides and wished us good luck. Recess. After recess we had Sejarah. Bought a Sejarah answer book for RM 4 from Pn Nur Azlina. The whole class was clamouring to buy it. Then we started arranging the tables even though we're supposed to do so during last period. But what the heck, everyone was doing it. Peer pressure, no?

Saw the Merdeka decorations judges from the window. Jit Sun commented how some Form 4 class was so bersemangated they wore cheongsam and whatnot. So Gerald, Rin and I rushed to the window where Sun was perched on the table and we all peered down. So Rin said casually that we should do something like that as well. Sun cheekily answered that Rin could strip for them--she had the curves, and some.

The judges came in. Bit disappointed, really that they didn't really scrutinise the class as we would like. Most likely glanced over the Unity poster Phei Fang and Eng Hoe collaborated over. But never mind. It's done with.

Sat at my table. Now I'm at the very back of the class. A bit annoyed, really, cause I'm so far from the board. But Rin was sitting next to me, and we started gossiping, and Gerald, Sun, Xin, Kee Wei, Eng Hoe (from now on will call him Chris) came around. Benjamin from Dahlia I think came as well and we started yakking. At one point Erina and Jennifer were mock-kissing each other until Benjamin whacked Jen's back, pushing her forward. He didn't succeed though; they only bumped noses. So I've come to love the place. Gerald's just two seats down from Erina and Elaine in front of me, so I'm quite protected. XD.

But the real fun starts at home.

Came home today. Sis was complaining of unwellness so Dad took her to the same clinic I went to before. Came back with report of high fever and sore throat but not the influenza thank God. She had to have 2 fever pills 4 times a day, a sore throat pill and antibodies. The thing is, she can't swallow pills.

So Dad obligingly uses the knife and chops them into little bits before he left for work. I stayed at the table watching my sis eat her meds. She took one, swallowed a glug of water, and promptly spat the whole thing out, water and all. Made a mess on the dining table. I was laughing too hard to breathe. Does the same thing with a small chunk of antibiotic pill. Spat it out five times. You know how you'd onyl take a minimal amount of water to swallow your pills? It took her three full glasses.

So she slept the whole afternoon while I cleared out my file and bookshelf. Was eating tapioca chips to stave away the hunger pangs. Then we had dinner together, and when I told Dad the troubles Sis had swallowing pills, Dad nodded solemnly. 'Do you want me to make the mango ice?' Dad used to blend mango, sirup water and ice together to make some sort of smoothie. Idea was to blend in Sis's meds with the smoothie so she could just eat the whole thing like ice-cream. Sis agreed while I washed out.

In minutes Dad was slicing the mango and cleaning the blender while Sis took out the meds she was required to take. Dad chucked everything inside and we watched as the blender crushed the white and pink pills to bits. Then Dad chucked in the mango, and added some water and ice. He'd omitted the sirup since it had to be made from scratch and he couldn't be bothered.

So when it was ready, Dad poured it out and went and prepared some more mangoes as dessert for me and him while Sis took the cup and sat down at the table with a spoon. She sniffed at it, then took the whole spoon in her mouth and promptly pulled a face of disgust. She stuck out her tongue and announced that it was too bitter. So I went on explaining my rate of reaction theory: When the pill was its original size, it was bitter on the outside 'cause that is the total surface area. But when you crush it, it becomes smaller, total surface area becomes bigger, therefore it is more bitter. All said with a smile, of course.

Sis gave me a look that I will translate as, 'Very funny and go die.' to put it crudely. She kept on pulling a face as she took spoonfuls of it and had to eat some of the mangoes and a Sunkist sweet after.

Told her it was so funny I'd blog about it. Only minutes ago, she'd stuck her head from the door, took one look at the laptop and arched an eyebrow.

'Are you seriously blogging about it?'

I nodded yeah. Her eyebrow was raised further.

'I thought you were joking.'

Thursday 20 August 2009

To Err Is Human, But It Feels Divine

Attention attention! Here ye here ye.

Unfortunately I have made a mistake regarding the "Louise Making Her Teacher Cry" Issue. It appears to be the work of an irreponsible Form 4 instead of our beloved friend.

This formal apology is hoped to have satisfied our beloved and wrongly accused CHS-ian who says, and I quote, 'You make me sound so Evil!'

Copyrights apply.

Wednesday 19 August 2009

You're Nice and Helpful, and People Take Advantage of That

Okay, not much to talk about. Wrecked my head trying to bloody figure out what the hell was Earth as a Sphere. Felt like giving up.

Uh, double Mod Maths we were...actually I have no idea what we were doing. Then it was double Bio and we went down to the lab. Love the Bio Lab. Brings back so many unforgettable moments. Remembered once when Pn Cheung was talking about the female reproductive system or something and the guys were all "excited" at the whole thing. Then someone started singing, 'I can show you the world...'

Cue hilarious moment.

Tuesday 18 August 2009

I'm So Sadistic I Laugh When You Cry

Lou was talking about how she made her teacher cry so I've got one as well. :) Pn Cheong was going through Biology again since she finished the syllabus on Saturday and only 8 out of 41 were present, me included, the only girl. Don't laugh at our attendance. Ixora class only had two.

So crap started in Bio where she went through Variation. There's a bit in the Success reference book where it talks about the grey-coloured moth and the dark-coloured moth, some thingamajig like that. She was talking about it when she suddenly said, 'You all know what a moth is? It turns into a butterfly.'

The whole class were so taken aback (yes, even the sub-science classes; so few attendance meant we'd have to combine classes and so they followed our schedule) that we all shout out, in unison, no hesitation, with one voice: NOOOOOOO!!!!

Then the uproar happened.

'No lah, Pn Cheong! I tell you, the moth is different from the butterfly!'

'The moth is a butterfly! (double wth I tell you) I read somewhere the moth is a stage of the butterfly!'

'No lah teacher. A moth goes through the same stage as a butterfly. See, they both go through pupae and then only they become a moth or a butterfly!' This was Montri.

Then Zhuo Liang or Xian Yao said: OMG lah Pn Cheong! Fail lah! Fail as a Bio teacher!'

Eng Hoe and I were too hysterical with laughter at this. It reminded us of the time where we asked Pn Cheong if we could use fish blood instead of human blood for an experiment (put sample under microscope, see the biconcave shape like in Form 4, Chapter 3) and she replied, the quote of the year: Fish got blood meh?

Pn Cheong immediately began to protest. 'Hai ya, one tiny mistake only what. Even I sometimes can make mistake.'

Xian Yao/Zhuo Liang (again I don't know how; sometimes their personality are too similar when it comes to Pn Cheong): Fail lah teacher.

And so it went on until she came to a part in genetics where she was explaining about how faulty genes can be passed on to children. '...and when they do that thing--'

'Teacher, what thing?' Xian Yao interrupted.

Pn Cheong: Hai ya, you already know what. That thing lah...

XY: Teacher we're not seven year olds lah. Explain what that thing is. How we know what that thing is?

We could see her struggling to find a word that explained it yet didn't sound too sexual in content. Finally she spoke: Intercourse.

Fast-forward till Monday. Like I said, she was going through the last chapters again when she saw Phee Yee and the other girls doing Add Maths. Then she blew up and warned them to get out if they were doing maths in her period. She even went towards at one point in a threatening way. Then she left the lab and came back after a while. Phei Fang later reported that Pn Cheong came back with red eyes and a runny nose, so we assumed she was crying. Quote Phei Fang: Haihz, she just couldn't handle the pressure.

On a more sober note, Erina, Sam and Hui Xin are at home recovering from high fever. Zhuo Liang also had a fever but he's getting better now. Then we heard via PA system that someone in 5 Lili kena H1N1 so the whole class was bundled off home and Mr. Allen said to go home if sick. We were in front with En Amara who was teaching us how architects drew their plans (for Chpt 10 Plan and Elevation) which was completely (okay, maybe mostly) irrelevant to our SPM. He forced us to go to the front so yeah. Then he made a mistake, had to re-do, and we were confused like mad when David came in with the news. Our class is a bit far off from the speaker so we can't hear announcements all that well in class.

All at once, Nicholas Leung and Jit Sun started coughing. 'Ah, sick lah sir, we need to go home now.'

Highlight of the day was when Amara taught Earth As a Sphere and he was doing a question when Melinda noticed he did it wrong and proceeded to ask him and debate with him about his method in front of the whole class, not pausing to give him a moment to interrupt. Saw her true ability as a debater. She even went something like, 'Mr Amara, your method is wrong. Shouldn't it be .......?' and everyone was like shell-shocked. Yes, even Amara himself. Go Mel!

Tim taught me to do CRO and all that so my Physics is much better thanks to him.

Then last period Ming Kang the gentle giant became Ming Kang the giant, period. Zhuo Liang was playing with the bendera we were using for Merdeka Day, and went to tease MK abt some equation (later explained to be MK liking Jennifer who was absent). MK ran at him, wanting to take his water bottle but gave it up. Not one to learn, ZL did the same thing, causing MK to flare up (doing that a lot lately) and take ZL's bottle and moving his arm back to throw it. Unfortunately, it was semi closed, so water came rushing out and hit Hui Sheng who was seated behind MK.

I called Jon over to ask him about something he'd written on the board which I saw. He replied that it was payback for MK scratching a line from his left ear to his jaw. Seems a bit violent, don't you think? The moment MK saw him talking, he came over and strangled Jon. Took a sharp scolding from Jenn Yee before he relented.

Talk about drama.