Well, I'm currently munching roasted chestnuts in front of the laptop, feeling frustrated because I was supposed to do my Chem Unit 3B as well as my Stats homework and past year question, as well as study for my electric field test on Thursday, but I woke up late today to a really nice American breakfast of eggs, sausages and beans. Went out for lunch at this really nice curry fish head place, came back feeling exhausted, so I only did my Chem homework (not the 3B though) and promptly feel asleep.
Had every intention of waking up half an hour later, but really, I actually woke up 2 hours ago, at seven in the evening. Yep, shows you how exhausted I am. And since I woke up late, and no one made dinner, the chestnuts mentioned above became it. That and a small slice of brownie.
Throat is perpetually sore, and have to keep clearing my throat every now and then. Voice changed a bit, especially during the first couple of days, and since it hurts too much to talk then, it's become deeper by a hint, though it'll probably wear off once I'm healed.
And Malese Jow rocks! Anna from Vampire Diaries anyone? For male vamps, I support Team Damon, but for females, I got for Team ANNA! Seriously, they shouldn't have killed her off. Her single, Red Light is fair. Catchy, in a disco dance sort of way, but "You Left Me In The Air" strikes a chord with me better than Red Light. The latter has a catchier title though. So go listen!!!
Friday, 5 November 2010
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
From Crawling To Walking To Running, We Move Upwards And Outwards Until We Die.
As a natural process of life, we fall in and out of things. We grow into some habits, and fall out of others. Undeniably, the most common phrase is, "We fall in love, we fall out of love," or something to that effect. This is just a short introduction for the main point of my post today: Falling Out of Love.
With Chemistry.
Dude, what did you expect?
The story starts way back when I was a kid. Constantly curious, always wanting to know why, poking her head into everything. Once I jammed the lock in the store room with a bit of wire because I wanted to learn how to pick a lock but the wire I had was slightly too thick. So the whole world came crashing down and it took my dad a couple of hours to get the door all fixed up.
And I read. A lot. Anything and everything I could find. From the ailments and sicknesses a toddler to get (I found a very informative book with lots of pretty pictures and diagrams) to Reader's Digest and all that sort of educational thing. And I watched a lot of TV. Whoever said kids can't learn anything by staring at the idiot box is either an idiot...or he's just jealous that he doesn't own one. Because most of what I've learnt about forensics, hypnosis, basically, the basis of my scientific and general knowledge came from two sources: Books and TV. I learned about thermite way before they taught us this in Form 5. I learned about DNA. And what I couldn't get from the TV or books I got from the Internet.
Naturally, it seems fitting that I go into science. And I loved every bit of it. Science explains everything so wonderfully. It's kind of like, you never truly see the potential of something until it's explained to you scientifically. It's when your eyes start to open and you go, "Hey...that's right."
Of all 3 sciences they taught us, Chemistry was my favourite. It was a combination of memory andhands on processes, and I loved it. I already had an ingrained sense of love towards science, and I didn't like Chemistry because the teacher was good, or because I like the teacher. No, I liked it because Chemistry opened my eyes to a whole new dimension.
When we came to college, the first thing they told us was that we could not memorise, we had to understand. And I believed in what they said, and I agreed wholeheartedly. So I sought to do the best I could.
What a fool I was.
This semester, the workload increased. I get that, it was expected. Nothing I couldn't handle. But then the lecturer started bombarding questions at us, and when we didn't answer, boy, did she get into a whole lot of shelling. It's moments like this that make me dread going into that class, my favourite class, because I simply don't know when I'm going to get chewed out and be made to look like a fool in front of everyone else.
The fact that the lecturer in question is strict partly contributes to the matter. My class does Chemistry homework and we go all frantic over it, because we're afraid that she's going to kill us if we didn't finish our homework. And I hate that, because I'm doing homework not because I want to challenge myself, or because I truly love the subject (yeah, I happen to like doing homework) but I do it out of fear.
Fear.
I can't believe what I'm saying but it's true. I do my homework partly out of fear.
And is that the way to go? We're all scared and bullied into doing exercises, and no doubt, it's beneficial to us in the long run, but I can't remember how long ago when I used to do a couple of pages extra, out of my own choice, because I was truly on a run. And this sickens me because I'm near killing myself studying for Chemistry so that I can answer her questions and not incur her wrath on me, and I don't even like her that much. And I can't even be bothered to study ahead for Biology, which has turned into one of my favourite classes to go even though the material is boring, because the lecturer is extremely cool and fun. He makes everything so accessible and come to life. And I really enjoy his classes; I'd feel so guilty that I didn't do his work when I respect him that much. The only motivation I have to do well in my next exams is that, with his teachings, I managed to get an extremely high score for Biology, even higher than Chem, and I want to excel that score for this coming exams, because I want to see that look of pride on his face, to know that I am where I am thanks to him.
And no, this isn't an ode of love to my biology teacher. I don't do student-lecturer relationships.
I don't believe that this applies to me only. Everywhere I look I see that we are going more and more lax. The eager-to-please students from Semester 1 have all but disappeared. We used to ask so many questions, used to have so much fun in studying. Now, we are all shells of our former selves.
And that thing about not memorising? Yeah, turns out that we were yelled at for not having the information at our fingertips, that we needed to understand, not memorise. Sorry to burst your bubble, sweetheart, but we need memory work as well, yeah? What's the point of understanding the concept if you can't remember what you were supposed to understand?
If my self-censor hadn't been kicked into place a while back, I would have been so tempted to end this with a "Screw you."
With Chemistry.
Dude, what did you expect?
The story starts way back when I was a kid. Constantly curious, always wanting to know why, poking her head into everything. Once I jammed the lock in the store room with a bit of wire because I wanted to learn how to pick a lock but the wire I had was slightly too thick. So the whole world came crashing down and it took my dad a couple of hours to get the door all fixed up.
And I read. A lot. Anything and everything I could find. From the ailments and sicknesses a toddler to get (I found a very informative book with lots of pretty pictures and diagrams) to Reader's Digest and all that sort of educational thing. And I watched a lot of TV. Whoever said kids can't learn anything by staring at the idiot box is either an idiot...or he's just jealous that he doesn't own one. Because most of what I've learnt about forensics, hypnosis, basically, the basis of my scientific and general knowledge came from two sources: Books and TV. I learned about thermite way before they taught us this in Form 5. I learned about DNA. And what I couldn't get from the TV or books I got from the Internet.
Naturally, it seems fitting that I go into science. And I loved every bit of it. Science explains everything so wonderfully. It's kind of like, you never truly see the potential of something until it's explained to you scientifically. It's when your eyes start to open and you go, "Hey...that's right."
Of all 3 sciences they taught us, Chemistry was my favourite. It was a combination of memory andhands on processes, and I loved it. I already had an ingrained sense of love towards science, and I didn't like Chemistry because the teacher was good, or because I like the teacher. No, I liked it because Chemistry opened my eyes to a whole new dimension.
When we came to college, the first thing they told us was that we could not memorise, we had to understand. And I believed in what they said, and I agreed wholeheartedly. So I sought to do the best I could.
What a fool I was.
This semester, the workload increased. I get that, it was expected. Nothing I couldn't handle. But then the lecturer started bombarding questions at us, and when we didn't answer, boy, did she get into a whole lot of shelling. It's moments like this that make me dread going into that class, my favourite class, because I simply don't know when I'm going to get chewed out and be made to look like a fool in front of everyone else.
The fact that the lecturer in question is strict partly contributes to the matter. My class does Chemistry homework and we go all frantic over it, because we're afraid that she's going to kill us if we didn't finish our homework. And I hate that, because I'm doing homework not because I want to challenge myself, or because I truly love the subject (yeah, I happen to like doing homework) but I do it out of fear.
Fear.
I can't believe what I'm saying but it's true. I do my homework partly out of fear.
And is that the way to go? We're all scared and bullied into doing exercises, and no doubt, it's beneficial to us in the long run, but I can't remember how long ago when I used to do a couple of pages extra, out of my own choice, because I was truly on a run. And this sickens me because I'm near killing myself studying for Chemistry so that I can answer her questions and not incur her wrath on me, and I don't even like her that much. And I can't even be bothered to study ahead for Biology, which has turned into one of my favourite classes to go even though the material is boring, because the lecturer is extremely cool and fun. He makes everything so accessible and come to life. And I really enjoy his classes; I'd feel so guilty that I didn't do his work when I respect him that much. The only motivation I have to do well in my next exams is that, with his teachings, I managed to get an extremely high score for Biology, even higher than Chem, and I want to excel that score for this coming exams, because I want to see that look of pride on his face, to know that I am where I am thanks to him.
And no, this isn't an ode of love to my biology teacher. I don't do student-lecturer relationships.
I don't believe that this applies to me only. Everywhere I look I see that we are going more and more lax. The eager-to-please students from Semester 1 have all but disappeared. We used to ask so many questions, used to have so much fun in studying. Now, we are all shells of our former selves.
And that thing about not memorising? Yeah, turns out that we were yelled at for not having the information at our fingertips, that we needed to understand, not memorise. Sorry to burst your bubble, sweetheart, but we need memory work as well, yeah? What's the point of understanding the concept if you can't remember what you were supposed to understand?
If my self-censor hadn't been kicked into place a while back, I would have been so tempted to end this with a "Screw you."
Friday, 24 September 2010
Of Cats and Ostrich Worms
So the baptism was over and such. Overall, minus the fact that I had mild chlorine allergies, it was more fun than I expected. Had a good old jaw with the cousins, and have a remarkable time throwing my youngest cousin (who celebrated her birthday on that day as well) into the swimming pool several times as a form of "dunking".
Have been having an OK time in college lately, and my sis got a new laptop, which is really cool and nice...Healthwise, my ear kinda hurts a bit, but I think it'll be over soon. Bio, particularly, was the only class in which we traded barbed insults and jokes. Seriously, at the beginning of semester 1, Mr Low was really shy and unsure about joking around with us, but this sem, I think he's gotten used to our class and thanks to our influence (ahem!) he's getting more and more sarcastic in that funny, bumbling, Mr Low way.
Some examples:
In biology, the last class, we were doing Species and Evolution, which sounds fascinating but can get really confusing if you zone out half way. So Mr Low was talking about genus, and species and how the definition of species is a group of organisms that can interbreed to produce fertile offspring, keyword being fertile. And he was giving us examples.
"...Two different species cannot interbreed to form fertile offspring....Check if, let's say, this tiger and an African tiger -- wait, there is no African tiger!" (It's true, google it. No current tigers in Africa, but fossils state tha sabre-tooth tigers lived there once upon a time.)
And then today, he was going through the whole biodiversity thing with us, where he was talking about different techniques for measuring biodiversity in a habitat, such as quadrat sampling and the capture-mark-recapture technique. So he asked the class in general if we ever did the CMR technique.
All of us gave an unsure, "Uh....no...."
He tried to jog our memory. "I'm sure you did something basic experiment like this back in Form 4, Form 5. You know, where you take a bowl and fill it with red beans, and then you remove a handful, and you mark with or something, and your beans are," he thought a bit, "your beans are, 'Rabbits' and --"
Cat interrupted. "Ha! Beans that hop!" And she mimicked a bean jumping around and the whole class burst into laughter and Kerrine was looking at Cat, with the look on her face that clearly spelt out "LAME".
Mr Low continued, trying to hold in his laughter; failed. "Then you put the handful of beans back into the bowl, and then you mix it around, to mean that your 'rabbits' are mixing around amidst the population." For some reason, everyone laughed at this. "And then you grab another handful, and you count how many beans are marked--"
"Oh, oh, I remember doing this experiment!" Shangeeth contributed excitedly. "Guys, don't do this experiment, you have to count all the beans, and mix it up, it's so immature lah..."
Mr Low grinned. "So I hope that since you are all, uh, mature enough, we don't have to do this experiment..."
Shan cut in again. "So what? The packet of beans is your entire population?"
This thing lasted the entire class. Mr Low was talking about crossbreeding, and how, maybe, people crossbreed different species of cows. "So let's say you have this cow that gives a lot of meat, and you have this cow that gives out a lot of milk, so you crossbreed that cow with the bull that gives out a lot of milk--"
And the whole class shouted with laughter because, really? A bull that produces milk?
Sir tried to continue. "Sorry, not bull. So you take the bull and you crossbreed it with the cow of the different species--"
"And you get a bow," Lyn commented drily. Bull + Cow = Bow (rhymes with cow)
So naturally, this thing with cows leads to the tale of how Lyn is so gullible, she fell for Shean-Woei's story about how brown cows have moustaches. And Lyn fired the "Do brown cows have moustaches?" question at Mr Low with such conviction that he hesitated a bit (because, h later explained, she seemed really confident that such a thing happened) and Lyn used his hesitation to argue the fact that see, she wasn't the only one who fell for it. And Cat commented that at least Mr Low was better than Mr Ling, the Physics teacher.
Of course, my class being the way it is, demanded to know about the whole Physics teacher thing. I was present when it actually happened, and I couldn't resist laughing when that day (which was also the day Lyn fell for the moustached brown cows story) Shean-Woei was telling us about it and she told the same thing to Mr Ling, expecting him to scoff. Instead, he gave her the reaction of the century: "Ha? Really?"
Later today in bio, Mr Low started telling us about this particular species of worm.
ML: There's a worm that buries its head in the soil...
Cat & Fi in unison: Earthworm!
ML: No, another one --
Cat & Lyn in unison: Ostrich worm!
Then, you can't just end this story without some more laughs. There was an in joke someone started during Physics when we were doing capacitors and capacitance when all of a sudden, Cat and Kerrine started laughing. Seems that Alex, being his old lame self, smirked at Cat and said one word:
Cat-pacitors.
Have been having an OK time in college lately, and my sis got a new laptop, which is really cool and nice...Healthwise, my ear kinda hurts a bit, but I think it'll be over soon. Bio, particularly, was the only class in which we traded barbed insults and jokes. Seriously, at the beginning of semester 1, Mr Low was really shy and unsure about joking around with us, but this sem, I think he's gotten used to our class and thanks to our influence (ahem!) he's getting more and more sarcastic in that funny, bumbling, Mr Low way.
Some examples:
In biology, the last class, we were doing Species and Evolution, which sounds fascinating but can get really confusing if you zone out half way. So Mr Low was talking about genus, and species and how the definition of species is a group of organisms that can interbreed to produce fertile offspring, keyword being fertile. And he was giving us examples.
"...Two different species cannot interbreed to form fertile offspring....Check if, let's say, this tiger and an African tiger -- wait, there is no African tiger!" (It's true, google it. No current tigers in Africa, but fossils state tha sabre-tooth tigers lived there once upon a time.)
And then today, he was going through the whole biodiversity thing with us, where he was talking about different techniques for measuring biodiversity in a habitat, such as quadrat sampling and the capture-mark-recapture technique. So he asked the class in general if we ever did the CMR technique.
All of us gave an unsure, "Uh....no...."
He tried to jog our memory. "I'm sure you did something basic experiment like this back in Form 4, Form 5. You know, where you take a bowl and fill it with red beans, and then you remove a handful, and you mark with or something, and your beans are," he thought a bit, "your beans are, 'Rabbits' and --"
Cat interrupted. "Ha! Beans that hop!" And she mimicked a bean jumping around and the whole class burst into laughter and Kerrine was looking at Cat, with the look on her face that clearly spelt out "LAME".
Mr Low continued, trying to hold in his laughter; failed. "Then you put the handful of beans back into the bowl, and then you mix it around, to mean that your 'rabbits' are mixing around amidst the population." For some reason, everyone laughed at this. "And then you grab another handful, and you count how many beans are marked--"
"Oh, oh, I remember doing this experiment!" Shangeeth contributed excitedly. "Guys, don't do this experiment, you have to count all the beans, and mix it up, it's so immature lah..."
Mr Low grinned. "So I hope that since you are all, uh, mature enough, we don't have to do this experiment..."
Shan cut in again. "So what? The packet of beans is your entire population?"
This thing lasted the entire class. Mr Low was talking about crossbreeding, and how, maybe, people crossbreed different species of cows. "So let's say you have this cow that gives a lot of meat, and you have this cow that gives out a lot of milk, so you crossbreed that cow with the bull that gives out a lot of milk--"
And the whole class shouted with laughter because, really? A bull that produces milk?
Sir tried to continue. "Sorry, not bull. So you take the bull and you crossbreed it with the cow of the different species--"
"And you get a bow," Lyn commented drily. Bull + Cow = Bow (rhymes with cow)
So naturally, this thing with cows leads to the tale of how Lyn is so gullible, she fell for Shean-Woei's story about how brown cows have moustaches. And Lyn fired the "Do brown cows have moustaches?" question at Mr Low with such conviction that he hesitated a bit (because, h later explained, she seemed really confident that such a thing happened) and Lyn used his hesitation to argue the fact that see, she wasn't the only one who fell for it. And Cat commented that at least Mr Low was better than Mr Ling, the Physics teacher.
Of course, my class being the way it is, demanded to know about the whole Physics teacher thing. I was present when it actually happened, and I couldn't resist laughing when that day (which was also the day Lyn fell for the moustached brown cows story) Shean-Woei was telling us about it and she told the same thing to Mr Ling, expecting him to scoff. Instead, he gave her the reaction of the century: "Ha? Really?"
Later today in bio, Mr Low started telling us about this particular species of worm.
ML: There's a worm that buries its head in the soil...
Cat & Fi in unison: Earthworm!
ML: No, another one --
Cat & Lyn in unison: Ostrich worm!
Then, you can't just end this story without some more laughs. There was an in joke someone started during Physics when we were doing capacitors and capacitance when all of a sudden, Cat and Kerrine started laughing. Seems that Alex, being his old lame self, smirked at Cat and said one word:
Cat-pacitors.
Friday, 10 September 2010
Moving With The Beat
And yes, due to immense pressure from people I know, I will abide your wishes and update my blog. It's probably going to be done in a few parts, and after you read this, there mayn't be anything left to mention in my email correspondence to the special few. And my memory's so skewed up I'm not going to bother to do stuff chronologically. In fact, I'm actualy referring to my journal to help me fill in the blanks.
Here goes.
The big news is: I'm getting baptized this coming Thursday. On Malaysia Day, which also happens to be my cousin's birthday. Yeah, all us 5 cousins are getting baptised together and our fathers get to dunk us in.
Due to that, we had to go to this Baptismal class I think on the first Saturday of the month. Woke up late, and got so worried about getting there on time to find out that we were the earliest people there. The 2-hour class finished in one hour, minly because we didn't ask questions, and we finished up quickly and went home. Spent the rest of the day in front of the idiot box.
Then, on Friday, we had a biology test later, so I was busy studying in the common room in KE since the labs (my first class was Physics lab) weren't opened yet. After a bit, I went into the girls bathroom at level one to tie my hair up properly, hot day and all. Turned around and grabbed the door knob to realised that the door wouldn't open.
Die.
So I started pulling at the stupid knob, cursing, getting severely traumatised and really really panicked. Wonder, really, that I didn't hyperventilate. Called my pal; she's still very far from HELP. And as I finished texting her, suddenly I got a text:
Oi. I'm here at KPD E. Come and get me.
Thank God my sister was there to save the day. I furiously sent off a text: I'm stuck in the toilet. Knob won't open. HELP!!! Started pacing around the cubicles, checking my watch every five seconds.....Why isn't she here yet?
After what seemed like eternity, my sis came and rescued me. I am free! And for the next ten minutes or so, I watched in undeniable pleasure and childish delight as girl after girl walked into the bathroom and get themselves locked in. The fun ended when I had to go to the lab.
Lab was over pretty quick, just a couple of practicals. Then we headed off to Wisma Help for the Bio test. Seems that our classroom had been used as an exam hall, so all the tables and chairs were in that exam hall seating. The moment we entered though, someon started crying for the tables and chairs to be rearranged. "We don't want Mr Low to remember that he gave us a test today," was the reasoning since Mr Low had set our test way back before the hols, "so everyone, let's rearrange the tables. Someone, rub the white board. Afterwards if he see the 'Law Exam' notice on the board he'll remember!"
To me it was pretty stupid. I mean, it's a test, yeah? So what's the big deal? We'll probably need to sit in alternate positions anyway. I ignored them, and sat right in front of the teacher's table. All around me, everyone was bustling into action. People were busy rearranging the furniture, but since we didn't really bother about the arrangements, it ended up with all the furniture being pushed and crowded against the left side of the room, leaving the right extremely empty.
"Hey, Ely. Come lah, move your table!"
Me, indignant. "Why? We're gonn have to move it back later anyway. What if the next class coming in for exam wants to use it?"
"Then we'll rearrange lah!"
Suit yourself. I'm not going anyway. In the end I was overruled and they pushed my table to the side.
No use anyway. Mr Low came in, raised a bemused eyebrow at the oddly skewed arrangement of the class, and with a lot of sarcasm and logic reasoning, managed to "persuade" us - more of politely ordering us - to rearrange the furniture back to the way it was before we had our exam. And then since we'd totally forgotten how the arrangement was, Shean-Woei kept popping over to the next class to give orders on the rearranging.
Hehe. In your face.
Here goes.
The big news is: I'm getting baptized this coming Thursday. On Malaysia Day, which also happens to be my cousin's birthday. Yeah, all us 5 cousins are getting baptised together and our fathers get to dunk us in.
Due to that, we had to go to this Baptismal class I think on the first Saturday of the month. Woke up late, and got so worried about getting there on time to find out that we were the earliest people there. The 2-hour class finished in one hour, minly because we didn't ask questions, and we finished up quickly and went home. Spent the rest of the day in front of the idiot box.
Then, on Friday, we had a biology test later, so I was busy studying in the common room in KE since the labs (my first class was Physics lab) weren't opened yet. After a bit, I went into the girls bathroom at level one to tie my hair up properly, hot day and all. Turned around and grabbed the door knob to realised that the door wouldn't open.
Die.
So I started pulling at the stupid knob, cursing, getting severely traumatised and really really panicked. Wonder, really, that I didn't hyperventilate. Called my pal; she's still very far from HELP. And as I finished texting her, suddenly I got a text:
Oi. I'm here at KPD E. Come and get me.
Thank God my sister was there to save the day. I furiously sent off a text: I'm stuck in the toilet. Knob won't open. HELP!!! Started pacing around the cubicles, checking my watch every five seconds.....Why isn't she here yet?
After what seemed like eternity, my sis came and rescued me. I am free! And for the next ten minutes or so, I watched in undeniable pleasure and childish delight as girl after girl walked into the bathroom and get themselves locked in. The fun ended when I had to go to the lab.
Lab was over pretty quick, just a couple of practicals. Then we headed off to Wisma Help for the Bio test. Seems that our classroom had been used as an exam hall, so all the tables and chairs were in that exam hall seating. The moment we entered though, someon started crying for the tables and chairs to be rearranged. "We don't want Mr Low to remember that he gave us a test today," was the reasoning since Mr Low had set our test way back before the hols, "so everyone, let's rearrange the tables. Someone, rub the white board. Afterwards if he see the 'Law Exam' notice on the board he'll remember!"
To me it was pretty stupid. I mean, it's a test, yeah? So what's the big deal? We'll probably need to sit in alternate positions anyway. I ignored them, and sat right in front of the teacher's table. All around me, everyone was bustling into action. People were busy rearranging the furniture, but since we didn't really bother about the arrangements, it ended up with all the furniture being pushed and crowded against the left side of the room, leaving the right extremely empty.
"Hey, Ely. Come lah, move your table!"
Me, indignant. "Why? We're gonn have to move it back later anyway. What if the next class coming in for exam wants to use it?"
"Then we'll rearrange lah!"
Suit yourself. I'm not going anyway. In the end I was overruled and they pushed my table to the side.
No use anyway. Mr Low came in, raised a bemused eyebrow at the oddly skewed arrangement of the class, and with a lot of sarcasm and logic reasoning, managed to "persuade" us - more of politely ordering us - to rearrange the furniture back to the way it was before we had our exam. And then since we'd totally forgotten how the arrangement was, Shean-Woei kept popping over to the next class to give orders on the rearranging.
Hehe. In your face.
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
Still Decomposing...
So, third and final week of hols. Next Monday I'm to go back to class, followed by a day off due to Independence Day, and back to class again on Wednesday. Which is, frankly, terrifying, because next Thursday I've got a 20 MCQ test on Electricity for Physics, and on Friday I've got a Bio test, the whole of Topic 3.
And I'm trying to decide on what universities I want to go because we need to hand up our forms before the end of the month, and the only time we can do that is next Monday (30th August). A bit late minute as usual, but hey, we've been on holiday. What to do? Frankly, I think it's really unnecessary, because we can easily get the information directly instead of going through all the hassle of dealing with HELP as the middleman.
Ben's party on Saturday was extremely fun once we got going. At first, it was a bit awkward since I was the only girl there (yeah, all my girlfriends ditched me last minute - more or less) but Ben was extremely attentive to me and so was Chris, who had very graciously stayed by my side to ensure I wasn't too lonely before he had to leave to pick up Tarvinder. Thanks, guys.
But when Ben's pal, Nicholas Kurt arrived, everything seemed a bit brighter. I think that's partly due to his personality; he's got that kind of attitude where he could easily ease the awkwardness I've been feeling. And when we started playing on the piano together and singing, that was when I acually felt fun! And during dinner, he kept regaling my table with tales of teachers back in Taman SEA (incidentally, he's doing Form 6 in my old school) and made us laugh with his impressions. Even Montri, our old classmate currently studying hospitality in KDU and Kurt's so-called twin brother, contributed a bit when he told us the story of being mistaken due to his skin colour (he's half Chinese, half Thai): He went to order char siew fan (roasted BBQ pork rice) and the lady mistook him for a Malay and asked, "Kau boleh makan ke?" (Are you sure you eat that?)
Admittedly, the party was good overall (loved the herb-roasted potatoes and the satay) and the cake was lovely, but there were some low points as well. A pal of mine was acting off during the whole time and for a moment I briefly wondered if I had been the offending party. Later I realised that it wasn't completely my fault (though it was somewhat related to me) but I couldn't help feeling guilty.
Oh, and I got my May/June 2010 results. Not bad, not bad, but I could've done better. During our lunch before Ben's party (with me, Ben and Chris) I was telling them about my results and they were a bit stunned, I think, that I still thought it wasn't good enough. Then dear, dear Ben, who is absolutely the person who knows my character the best despite not really chatting with me much during this whole time, summarised it up in one sentence. "She's never satisfied until she gets full marks lah."
How true is that!
And I'm trying to decide on what universities I want to go because we need to hand up our forms before the end of the month, and the only time we can do that is next Monday (30th August). A bit late minute as usual, but hey, we've been on holiday. What to do? Frankly, I think it's really unnecessary, because we can easily get the information directly instead of going through all the hassle of dealing with HELP as the middleman.
Ben's party on Saturday was extremely fun once we got going. At first, it was a bit awkward since I was the only girl there (yeah, all my girlfriends ditched me last minute - more or less) but Ben was extremely attentive to me and so was Chris, who had very graciously stayed by my side to ensure I wasn't too lonely before he had to leave to pick up Tarvinder. Thanks, guys.
But when Ben's pal, Nicholas Kurt arrived, everything seemed a bit brighter. I think that's partly due to his personality; he's got that kind of attitude where he could easily ease the awkwardness I've been feeling. And when we started playing on the piano together and singing, that was when I acually felt fun! And during dinner, he kept regaling my table with tales of teachers back in Taman SEA (incidentally, he's doing Form 6 in my old school) and made us laugh with his impressions. Even Montri, our old classmate currently studying hospitality in KDU and Kurt's so-called twin brother, contributed a bit when he told us the story of being mistaken due to his skin colour (he's half Chinese, half Thai): He went to order char siew fan (roasted BBQ pork rice) and the lady mistook him for a Malay and asked, "Kau boleh makan ke?" (Are you sure you eat that?)
Admittedly, the party was good overall (loved the herb-roasted potatoes and the satay) and the cake was lovely, but there were some low points as well. A pal of mine was acting off during the whole time and for a moment I briefly wondered if I had been the offending party. Later I realised that it wasn't completely my fault (though it was somewhat related to me) but I couldn't help feeling guilty.
Oh, and I got my May/June 2010 results. Not bad, not bad, but I could've done better. During our lunch before Ben's party (with me, Ben and Chris) I was telling them about my results and they were a bit stunned, I think, that I still thought it wasn't good enough. Then dear, dear Ben, who is absolutely the person who knows my character the best despite not really chatting with me much during this whole time, summarised it up in one sentence. "She's never satisfied until she gets full marks lah."
How true is that!
Thursday, 19 August 2010
I Define My Life By Fictional Characters Who Kick Ass And Steal The Show
You'll always have me, but whether I'll have you in return remains to be seen.
Angsty music playing on, right now I'm listening to The Used. Lots of screaming, yelling, basically eardrum-bursting noise. Something that, despite my not too bad results, I need desperately.
Today is Ben and Shar's birthday, and going through their Facebook, I suddenly asked myself a question, "Why is it during someone's birthday, loads of people write them birthday wishes, but in real life, most of them aren't really people you keep in contact with?" Think about it. The only reason why people post birthday wishes for an individual is because of the fb notification, isn't it?
I get it, utterly depressing post and all that, but I can't help feeling drained. I bet even Chris is feeling the same; both of us running up and down to make Ben's party perfect. It's Ben, you know. The same Ben that cheers me up effortlessly. Ben's going off to Russia.
I think my results were alright. I'm not sure, though. I want to know what grade I got but all they're giving me is the UMS. I talked to Shar and she thinks I might have an A but I'm not sure. And it's that not knowing that bugs me. Because there is a very thin line between an A and a B. I think.
I don't write anymore.
I can't imagine why.
My head is filled to the brim of stories and tales, just begging to be told, but I am afraid of being cliched, afraid of losing my muse. It happens all the time; I get excited about something, an idea, the beginnings of a new adventure, and then, when I try to write, it falls to pieces. Maybe I shouldn't think so much, maybe I should stop reading so much into things, but I sit in front of the computer or I stare at a blank sheet of foolscap and I just...freeze.
Okay, this next piece was done a few year back, a little project Lou and I had been working on. We were planning a Girls Night Out sort of thing, and also a Party Prom thing because we weren't going to prom and we'd thought we have a prom thingy at Lou's place and Lou was trying to sketch out the different outfits we'd be wearing. So this is what happened over the course of several hours of phone calls:
For Party Prom (since GNO is just a night out and don't requir fancy stuff):
The theme is Red! Used to be purple, but now it's red.
Elyssia - Long Sleeve dress shirt (white/pinstripe), vest (black), red skinny tie (loosely - I feel like a dog wearing a lease), tailored pants (black), shiny tap-dancing shoes, black fedora with red ribbon (I wanted a bowler hat like Keira Knightley's in the Coco Chanel Mademoiselle ad but Lou was designing my outfit. Strangely I thought she'd given me a dress), puzzle locket wth long fine chain, white walking stick.
Inspiration: Dancer
Lou - Silver strappy heels, red dress (I cancelled out burgandy/wine red multiple times in my notebook), knee length, lightly flared around knees, glittery bits (I have no idea what this meant now).
Inspiration: Prom Queen
Gloria - White tube dress (short), sienna coloured wooden heels (wedges, I think), red flowers in hair, chunky bracelets (multiple).
Strangely enough my inspiration for her was a cocktail hostess, like she invited us to her place for cocktails and she's wearing that sort of outfit. Dunno why, that's how I see her.
Chiau - Bowler hat, red ribbon, red suspenders (Lou's idea) white tailored shirt, shiny shoes, Oakley sunnies (apparently she was supposed to be mod hip hop, whatever that is).
Karis - Backless, gold chain at the toe, wine red, god shoes, chandelier earrings. I think we took her to be the Greek goddess type.
Wendy - Happily ever after style (I can't believe I actually wrote that), sheer, empire waist, sleeveless tube dress, black/red ribbon choker, red peek toe shoes. Oh wait, apparently she's supposed to be a goddess as well.
I'm now very confused.
Angsty music playing on, right now I'm listening to The Used. Lots of screaming, yelling, basically eardrum-bursting noise. Something that, despite my not too bad results, I need desperately.
Today is Ben and Shar's birthday, and going through their Facebook, I suddenly asked myself a question, "Why is it during someone's birthday, loads of people write them birthday wishes, but in real life, most of them aren't really people you keep in contact with?" Think about it. The only reason why people post birthday wishes for an individual is because of the fb notification, isn't it?
I get it, utterly depressing post and all that, but I can't help feeling drained. I bet even Chris is feeling the same; both of us running up and down to make Ben's party perfect. It's Ben, you know. The same Ben that cheers me up effortlessly. Ben's going off to Russia.
I think my results were alright. I'm not sure, though. I want to know what grade I got but all they're giving me is the UMS. I talked to Shar and she thinks I might have an A but I'm not sure. And it's that not knowing that bugs me. Because there is a very thin line between an A and a B. I think.
I don't write anymore.
I can't imagine why.
My head is filled to the brim of stories and tales, just begging to be told, but I am afraid of being cliched, afraid of losing my muse. It happens all the time; I get excited about something, an idea, the beginnings of a new adventure, and then, when I try to write, it falls to pieces. Maybe I shouldn't think so much, maybe I should stop reading so much into things, but I sit in front of the computer or I stare at a blank sheet of foolscap and I just...freeze.
Okay, this next piece was done a few year back, a little project Lou and I had been working on. We were planning a Girls Night Out sort of thing, and also a Party Prom thing because we weren't going to prom and we'd thought we have a prom thingy at Lou's place and Lou was trying to sketch out the different outfits we'd be wearing. So this is what happened over the course of several hours of phone calls:
For Party Prom (since GNO is just a night out and don't requir fancy stuff):
The theme is Red! Used to be purple, but now it's red.
Elyssia - Long Sleeve dress shirt (white/pinstripe), vest (black), red skinny tie (loosely - I feel like a dog wearing a lease), tailored pants (black), shiny tap-dancing shoes, black fedora with red ribbon (I wanted a bowler hat like Keira Knightley's in the Coco Chanel Mademoiselle ad but Lou was designing my outfit. Strangely I thought she'd given me a dress), puzzle locket wth long fine chain, white walking stick.
Inspiration: Dancer
Lou - Silver strappy heels, red dress (I cancelled out burgandy/wine red multiple times in my notebook), knee length, lightly flared around knees, glittery bits (I have no idea what this meant now).
Inspiration: Prom Queen
Gloria - White tube dress (short), sienna coloured wooden heels (wedges, I think), red flowers in hair, chunky bracelets (multiple).
Strangely enough my inspiration for her was a cocktail hostess, like she invited us to her place for cocktails and she's wearing that sort of outfit. Dunno why, that's how I see her.
Chiau - Bowler hat, red ribbon, red suspenders (Lou's idea) white tailored shirt, shiny shoes, Oakley sunnies (apparently she was supposed to be mod hip hop, whatever that is).
Karis - Backless, gold chain at the toe, wine red, god shoes, chandelier earrings. I think we took her to be the Greek goddess type.
Wendy - Happily ever after style (I can't believe I actually wrote that), sheer, empire waist, sleeveless tube dress, black/red ribbon choker, red peek toe shoes. Oh wait, apparently she's supposed to be a goddess as well.
I'm now very confused.
Wednesday, 11 August 2010
Holidays - Day 3
Well people!
It's Day 3 of my three-weeks mid semester break, and I'm currently bummed out at home, decomposing in front of the computer after trying, very unsuccessfully, to study Physics: Electricity for my after hols test. Why am I studying so hard? You might ask. Well, I like to get things done out of the way, so I can finish my To-Do List in this week and left the rest of the time to do...well, what, exactly, I have no idea, but I think I'll probaby repeat my To-Do List? It's kinda like when you get stuff finished to do your other irrelevant stuff and realised that they were the stuff you've already done?
No making sense? Yeah, me too.
I am incredibly mad at Blogger because I'd just typed out a super nice entry about my week so far and due to some incredibly heart-jerking experience (I accidentally pressed Ctrl and the dash and almost screamed as I watched the page shrink; Ctrl + to enlarge) I accidentally left the page hence nothing is saved.
Anyway, as I was saying before the heart-attack inducing moment, I've got lots of stuff to do: Start another Merlin marathon, for one - Don't ask; it's a holiday ritual - and actually understand what dear Colin Morgan is saying when he does the spells, thanks to this cool website where they have all the translations. Besides, I miss seeing Katie McGrath (Freakdog, anyone? Also called Red Mist) and her chemistry with Emilia Fox, both of whom are utterly adorable! Yes, call me obsessed. But they're hot. And brilliant at acting.
Also, I need to start looking for Universities to apply to so I can start next September right after my A Levels. It's extremely horrible to sift through tons of webpage information that don't really help, not to mention that it's hard to find colleges that offer the course I want done locally but with an overseas degree. Yes, I'm picky, I know.
The only good thing so far is that I now have time to exercise and eat healthy. Seriously, I've devoured a whole plastic carton of both fresh apricots and strawberries over the course of the past couple of days. Alone. Hey, it was lying in the fridge and no one was eating it and I was hungry...
The free time also gives me a chance to properly do laundry the way I like it. Call me domestic, but I actually enjoy folding clothes and stuff. The only requirement is that I fold them the way I like to so that it doesn't crease and all. I'm really OCD on that, and hand washing, and doing things in general.
But now I've got a problem. Ben's leaving for Russia in one month plus time so we're planning a going-away party for him this weekend to coincident with an early birthday thing. The thing is we don't know where to put the venue (preferably somewhere near everyone can go to) and what to get for his birthday. So let me know if you have an idea about it.
It's Day 3 of my three-weeks mid semester break, and I'm currently bummed out at home, decomposing in front of the computer after trying, very unsuccessfully, to study Physics: Electricity for my after hols test. Why am I studying so hard? You might ask. Well, I like to get things done out of the way, so I can finish my To-Do List in this week and left the rest of the time to do...well, what, exactly, I have no idea, but I think I'll probaby repeat my To-Do List? It's kinda like when you get stuff finished to do your other irrelevant stuff and realised that they were the stuff you've already done?
No making sense? Yeah, me too.
I am incredibly mad at Blogger because I'd just typed out a super nice entry about my week so far and due to some incredibly heart-jerking experience (I accidentally pressed Ctrl and the dash and almost screamed as I watched the page shrink; Ctrl + to enlarge) I accidentally left the page hence nothing is saved.
Anyway, as I was saying before the heart-attack inducing moment, I've got lots of stuff to do: Start another Merlin marathon, for one - Don't ask; it's a holiday ritual - and actually understand what dear Colin Morgan is saying when he does the spells, thanks to this cool website where they have all the translations. Besides, I miss seeing Katie McGrath (Freakdog, anyone? Also called Red Mist) and her chemistry with Emilia Fox, both of whom are utterly adorable! Yes, call me obsessed. But they're hot. And brilliant at acting.
Also, I need to start looking for Universities to apply to so I can start next September right after my A Levels. It's extremely horrible to sift through tons of webpage information that don't really help, not to mention that it's hard to find colleges that offer the course I want done locally but with an overseas degree. Yes, I'm picky, I know.
The only good thing so far is that I now have time to exercise and eat healthy. Seriously, I've devoured a whole plastic carton of both fresh apricots and strawberries over the course of the past couple of days. Alone. Hey, it was lying in the fridge and no one was eating it and I was hungry...
The free time also gives me a chance to properly do laundry the way I like it. Call me domestic, but I actually enjoy folding clothes and stuff. The only requirement is that I fold them the way I like to so that it doesn't crease and all. I'm really OCD on that, and hand washing, and doing things in general.
But now I've got a problem. Ben's leaving for Russia in one month plus time so we're planning a going-away party for him this weekend to coincident with an early birthday thing. The thing is we don't know where to put the venue (preferably somewhere near everyone can go to) and what to get for his birthday. So let me know if you have an idea about it.
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