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.

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.'

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.

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.

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.

Procrastination...running circles in my head

Jethro.

Yes, I have officially decided to name my future dog (whatever it may be) Jethro. If it's a girl I'll call it Jenny.

Okay gags aside, Nico's going through a moment of self-quarantine because his brother has suspected H1N1 so Nico's staying home as well.

Trials is in two weeks or so. Approximately.

I'm terrified.

Influenza and Other Things

Not feeling too well lately. Thursday I slept in the afternoon and woke at seven just for my dad to check that I have a fever of 37.8 Celsius. Scary. And if you want to know what made my dad check, I was sleeping on my parents' bed wrapped in my mom's blanket. The sun was shining like hell outside but I said I was cold. Go figure.

So that night after dinner Dad took me to the clinic near my house for a check-up, what with the influenza scare these days. Since it was a clinic I've not been to before, Dad had to register me. Luckily he told me to bring my IC along. I swear, seems like I've had patient cards at practically every clinic in my vicinity already. Shows how weak my immunity system is.

Waiting for a while. Quite a lot of people. Had to use the loo. Shock, gasp, horror! The loo itself was a health hazard (is that what you call it)! Honestly. The roof was falling down in places, there were droppings all over (at least I think they were). Expected more from a doctor's clinic, really.

Went in. Doc checked me up and all. Finally figured out that it was a viral infection, normal fever and flu, nothing serious. But he said not to go to school the next day, what with the prejudices against the influenza and all. Went to the dispensary to get my meds. Fever medication - 2 tablets, 4 (!!) times a day (I have a strange feeling about this...) and cold medication - 1 tablet, twice a day, all after meals. To Dad's surprise, the meds only costed us RM21! Which was cheap. Again, another reference to how weak I am when I've even started to notice how cheap the medication is.

Anyway, stayed home Friday. Heard quite a number in class had the flu, and there was a case (not sure if it's true/confirmed) of the influenza in 3 Dahlia (was it?) Chatting with Lou the whole time. She said that there were 4 confirmed cases of influenza in her school (CHS) and her mom said (her parents are doctors: mom's a pediatrician and dad's an anaesthetist) that the influenza is like pneumonia--it can KILL.

So to you people out there who want to get the influenza for some crazy-assed reason -- skip school for a week (this was response I got from the majority) or so that you can be immune to the influenza after you recover from it (funnily enough, I got this as an excuse too, though I suppose it does make sense) please, please, please do not put your lives at risk just for one week of respite from school. It can kill, or have you not seen the death rates go up?

Take back everything you said about wanting to have the flu; don't mess with things like this. It's just too close for comfort. Besides, you'll have to take all sorts of vaccines and medication and check-ups and whatnots. Take it from someone who's been on meds most of her life for some reason or other -- after the first few days, the novelty wears off, and you'll find yourself wishing you weren't so weak instead.

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Fear.

She was afraid of many things. Fear of abandonment, fear of the future. Fear of losing control.

She was afraid to die, afraid that she might leave before achieving all that she'd set out to do. She was afraid of herself, of time. Of everything. She was afraid of losing out. Afraid of sickness. Of war. Of losing her friends. A fact that seemed more and more likely with each passing day.

She had friends, many of them, back when she was younger and carefree. She was still carefree now, but it was laced with a hint of cynicism and jaded sarcasm. Where she once took care not to hurt her friends, she now ploughed straight aheard, blunt in her views and opinions, not caring who she hurt or why. She was protective of her friends, yes, to the point that she'd fight for them with her life, but now, those so-called friends were just infuriating. She didn't know who to trust.

Those she could were busy with their own things; those she couldn't were available. She often yearned for someone she could talk to, no holding back, just letting everything out. Someone with a wise counsel, who could comfort her, play Devil's advocate. Someone who could make her blood fire up with just one look; understand her completely by one gesture. No words need to be spoken, just soft, reassuring silence.

However, the people she worked with...They were afraid of her and her temper. Many a time had she affected their mood with her black-temper aura, turning the atmosphere sour. She knew that everyone gave her a wide berth. If any of the boys were teasing her girlfriends, they'd go through all of them and stopped teasing when it came to her. They probably didn't mean to, but it made her feel left out. They would come asking gingerly for her book or chair, and though she'd never give them any reason to, they'd immediately scurry away, mistaking her look of bemusement for one of anger.

She was labeled.

Quite frankly, it hurt.

A lot.